When Two Hearts are Daring
by DbKiT
Summary: Rainbow Dash wants the latest Daring Do. And she'll get it, even if it means sharing the only book in Cloudsdale with the biggest jerk in Cloudsdale. www. fimfiction. net/story/150369/when-two-hearts-are-daring
1. Your Egghead Fix has been Denied!

When Two Hearts are Daring

Rainbow Dash groaned as she forced herself not to fidget in the chilly december morning air, on a Manehattan sidewalk packed full of ponies from nose to tail. At that moment Rainbow Dash knew that she and lines were mortal enemies.

But just like the famed Apple family cider or one of those delicious Appleloosan Pepper Pot Pies, this book store grand opening was worth the wait. Why, one might ask? Well because the release of the latest, greatest, in the most sensational adventure series ever coincided on the very same day! Daring Do and the Crypt of the Dark King.

It did the trick. The new bookstore was flooded with eager bookworms. The official release date was actually three months away but the author agreed, in an act of generosity, to allow two hundred copies to be sold early in honor of the renovation and grand re-opening of the very first bookstore in the city.

Which is why Rainbow Dash was standing in the slowest line in the history of existence. Even worse than cider! With cider you walk up, get a mug, and leave. But of course every pony in front of Dash was a fan just like her. Probably a reverent fan, just like her.

And the author, A.K. Yearling herself was here signing books! The thought alone made Dash giddy. Second only to the Wonderbolts, Yearling was a pony she genuinely looked up to with the fascination of a starry-eyed filly. In one night she had become a lifelong fan and for that reason alone she knew the wait was worth it.

"Come on, come on, this line feels like it's getting slower!" she muttered.

Dash tried to peer around the dozen or so ponies in front of her with no success. The line darted sharply to the right and passed the front doors of the book shop, keeping the author hidden along with a good amount of customers still waiting in line.

"Hey can this line move any faster!" is what Dash wanted to say but alas, she knew it would do no good.

Seriously, Tank moves faster than this in his sleep! A blustery breeze rustled through Dash's mane and feathers, shivering she tightened the scarf around herself. Suddenly the mare in front of her took a clean three steps forward. Sweet Progress!

Three steps in the next five minutes...wonderful.

But patience is a virtue and at long last, after at least an hour of cold wind and coughing murmuring ponies, she finally made it to the front doors, thank the stars!

She could see the booth separated by a petition covered in signs and cardboard cutouts of the story's heroine. From her angle, Dash couldn't see Yearling clearly besides the big brown sun hat poking out from the sides. Much to Dash's delight the line seemed to be moving faster now, she'd finally have the new book and her hooves. She could already imagine the late hours she'd keep pouring every last ounce of her attention into those pages! Oh man this is SO exciting!

She let her eyes wander for a moment. The atmosphere was comfortable and warm, the very opposite of what she was standing in for the better part of an hour. She could distinctly smell coffee brewing near by- oh hey, a café! If only she could have camped in here instead. But it didn't matter now, the wait was worth it.

Before Dash knew it she was at the front of the line. She'd made it, just one pony left!

Finally, I'm next!

Her eyes fell back on the booth and to her surprise the chair was empty.

"Uh, where's A.K.?" Dash asked. The mare ahead of her took her copy and cantered happily out of the store, and suddenly Dash found herself standing in front of the booth with an empty chair behind it. A single book sat on the shelf behind that. Oh wow, was that really the last one? A pony who looked like the manager stepped into the booth with a pitying smile.

"Listen up everyone! I'm sorry to say we're fresh out of copies! Miss Yearling needed to step away but she was very happy to meet so many of her dedicated fans!" An audible groan rose from the line of ponies, some were more audible with their displeasure and a few others got out of line entirely.

"Hold on, don't leave yet! We still have plenty of the previous adventures lining our shelves. All reprints with beautiful covers! And wonderful assortment of Daring Do accessories over there, and don't forget to grab yourself a quick mug of Starbucks before you head out!"

Behind her, more ponies stepped out and disassembled the booth in a quick and practiced manner. In a numb horror, Rainbow Dash locked onto the last book. The book the author hadn't been here to sign and give to her. Had none of them seen it? Before she could say anything, somepony walked past and snatched the lonely item off the display. Dash's voice caught in her throat and she could only watch the last book, her book, get taken away.

"H-hey, wait a minute!" She brought her hooves up, leaning over the table. "Wait a minute!" she repeated. The line of ponies was breaking up, packing the already crowded store, making it difficult to reach the nabber. With no other choice Dash hovered a few feet above the bustling crowd, trying to pick out the mane of the pony who snagged her beloved book right from under her nose.

Darn, where'd he go? Outside? Dash flew out of the store, looking up and down the sidewalk. At first she thought she'd missed him until she spotted her target. A brown coated stallion with a blond mane. If she squinted, Dash was certain she saw the book poking out of his saddle bag.

"You! Stop right there!" She touched down right in front of the stallion, thrusting her nose straight into his face, her rainbow mane obscured his vision and made him recoil in surprise. For a second Rainbow Dash knew who she was looking at, yet at the same time couldn't believe that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.

"What the hay, mare!" he protested until Rainbow Dash gave him some space. Her eyes weren't lying but her mind still clung to the strands of disbelief.

"Dumbbell? What are you doing here in Manehattan?" she asked.

Dumbbell looked as if Dash tried to speak to him in a dead language before straightening up with a flash of annoyance. "Minding my own business, is what I'm doing." he said, simultaneously sidestepping her.

Rainbow Dash turned with a snarl. "I saw you take that book!"

"What are you talking about?"

So, playing to your name, huh?

"I was next in line, I'm supposed to be the one who owns it, so don't play dumb with me!"

Dumbbell rolled his eyes and made his reply mild. "Don't know what you're talking about, Dashy." Of all things, he had the nerve to smile. And there the conversation ended.

Dash zeroed in on the saddle bag which she noticed him fiddling with during their exchange, pushing the book down under the flap. If she could leer any harder she might have developed telekinesis right then. But at this point there was nothing she could do to claim her prize, without making a scene at least.

[hr]

"Hey Rainbow Daaaash! So did you get the new book?"

The next day saw Rainbow Dash in nothing but a foul mood. She had been mulling the time away around home. Most of her friends were too busy, wrapped tightly around their own individual projects to put up with Dash's sour mood, she was sure. All except for Pinkie Pie.

"Aw come on, Dash! Don't mope! What happened?"

Dash eventually dragged herself into view, seeing Pinkie in a perpetual bounce amused her like a kitten to a ball of yarn. If she stood there long enough she might just lift the pegasus' mood.

"What makes you think I'm moping" Dash asked.

"Because today is Tuesday! The day after Monday! And Monday was the day of that very extra cool grand re opening of the very first bookstore in Manehattan!" Pinkie seemed to jump higher with every other word. "But you haven't been to the library to show off the most fantastic, splenderific, adventurous adventure or anything and that is pretty suspicious!"

Dash smirked. Her friend was right. She had even told Twilight that she'd let the book be added to the library catalogue after she was finished, so when she didn't return, flashing the new Daring Do like a trophy, Pinkie Pie's uncanny senses must have tipped her off. Oh well, might as well be honest.

"Yeah you're right. I wasn't able to get one." she groaned. "Now I've got to wait another three and a half months for the official release!" A distraught feeling washed over her and she rolled over on her back like a defeated animal. "I don't know if I can stand this wait! It's gonna kill me!"

"You weren't the only pony from here to go to the opening were you? Maybe you'll get lucky and run into someone else who got it." said Pinkie Pie. She then gasped and crouched low to the ground. "Oh no! Or maybe you shouldn't try to find other ponies who have the book. I forgot, spoilers!"

Rainbow Dash squinted in confusion. "What are you talking about, Pinkie?"

"Think about it, Dashy! You're just walking along through Cloudsdale and you go to one of your favorite places to hang out and ponies are there!"

"Um...alright?"

"Ponies that beat you to the cake! They'll be talking about Daring Do's amazing new adventure and you'll overhear them and it'll ruin everything! Dash you HAVE to stay inside and never go outside for three whole months!"

"Woah woah woah, Pinkie! I think that's just a tad on the extreme side!" Dash chuckled. "I'll be fine, don't worry." she shrugged. "It's just a book." She tried putting up a strong front, then she tapped her chin. "But you just gave me an idea!"

Pinkie Pie poked her head out of the quickly dug bunker she had dug to look up at her friend. "Oh, an idea? Is it a fun one?"

Dash grimaced. "Maaaaaybe. But it'll definitely answer a question that's been nagging me since I got home." Dash went airborne. "I'll see you later, Pinkie Pie!"

And with that she flew off to Cloudsdale.


	2. Favorite Reading Spot

Chapter 2

Rainbow Dash made it to Cloudsdale in no time, effortlessly gliding across the white fluffy citadel until she passed over the weather management complex. A closely knit unit of buildings, encircling a large spiraling tower, the tallest tower in the city. Dash circled round until she found the snow and sleet department, which would be working around the clock to prepare enough of the soft stuff for Hearth's Warming Eve. In fact most of the weather factory work force had been moved to this location since less pony power would be required elsewhere. Hopefully this would make her search easier.

"Drizzle, how's it goin?" Rainbow Dash landed next to the pony nearest her, who was inspecting the built-in thermometers in front of a long row of vats.

"Hi, Rainbow Dash. Oh you know, checking the temps on these snow vats, its riveting work I assure y-" The yawn laid waste to the end of Drizzle's sentence, which pulled a quick guffaw from Dash.

"Sounds very interesting, Drizz. But anyway, I know this is going to sound weird but..." Rainbow Dash paused to think. Yeah it was going to sound weird no matter how she said it.

"Have you seen Dumbbell around here today?"

As Dash expected this earned a look. It was a short one that Drizzle quickly straightened but Dash had caught it anyway.

"Dumbbell? You won't be seeing him around the factory, today is his day off."

Dash huffed in frustration. "You wouldn't happen to know where he lives, would you?" she asked.

"Nah, Sorry Dash." she paused. "But that other guy, ya know, Hoops I think, he's here. Out of anyone here he'll know. Go East a bit, you'll see him with the cloud movers."

Rainbow Dash thanked Drizzle and left. Sure enough there were several pegasi out today doing cloud sorting work. In this case moving out the normal clouds and replacing them with the thicker, heavier clouds.

Each laden with moisture cold enough to produce snow. Hoops was out in the middle with a group of other pegasi pushing the heavy clouds into the correct place. Dash flew over and landed right onto the cloud he had been pushing alone. Her extra weight getting his attention immediately.

"Yo, Well if it isn't the great Commander Hurricane." he said in his typical laid back way, giving a sarcastic salute. "What brings you out to this humble corner of the sky?"

Rainbow Dash grinned and saluted back. "At ease, private. I'm here for information! Since I don't have the time to search every corner of Cloudsdale. I need you to tell me where Dumbbell is."

Hoops stopped pushing the cloud and leaned on it, scratching his chin

"Huh, and I thought you just couldn't resist my charm any longer. Well you're not gonna find him anywhere around here, it's his day off." he answered.

"I'm already aware," said Dash. "But you know his usual hangouts, right?"

"Sure! There's the billiard hall, the diner, the gym, the bar, the race track, and uh... oh yeah, the shipyard!"

The last one caught Dash's attention. "The Shipyard? What does he do there?"

"I have no idea, babe!" Hoops said with a laugh. When Rainbow Dash didn't look convinced, he stopped. "Nah, I'm serious. Not even Score knows why he goes over there so much."

He spoke again. "You know, I probably shouldn't have told you about the yard but you'll probably never find him. The place is busy as heck this time of day."

"Huh, we'll see about that." Rainbow Dash leapt off the cloud in a shot toward the shipping yard. "Thanks for the info!" she called back.

"Yeah whatever, just don't tell em I said anything!" Hoops shouted back.

The shipping yard was a large complex, a mile long stretch of strong solid cloud material which connected naturally to the side of Cloudsdale. Day by day airships would land on the platform and the workers would take the goods carried inside to a place where they would be sorted out via a complicated array of tubes, conveyor belts and magic locator enchantments to find the correct destination. From there it was a simple matter of getting the goods off of the cloud city and down to the thousands of citizens across Equestria.

As hundreds of pegasi bustled about, Rainbow Dash began to understand what Hoops had meant. Aside from the shipping yard being enormous it was chock full of...stuff! And incredibly noisy to boot. She'd flown over the yard many times but rarely did she place herself among it since there wasn't much for her to do there. The ships, six in total, stood high above her like gargantuan balloons. Walking and flying out of each of them were pegasi laden with nets full of cargo, some bunches were so heavy that it needed at least six strong workers to carry it. Rainbow Dash needed to step lightly, not only to keep a lookout for Dumbbell but also to make sure she didn't accidentally fall onto the path of something dangerously heavy.

Since he didn't actually work here, at least to her knowledge, it would be pointless to ask if anypony had seen him around. After a few minutes of searching Dash began to think that the yard was a bust until she noticed a high stack of crates just in front of the pier of the sixth air ship. Angled a bit off to the side, so that most of the crates leaned against one of the buildings that the cargo was being taken too. She flew over and inspected the wall, the crates were all empty and ready to be recycled via a return trip. All stacked together like a massive wooden partition, separated from the rest of the docking space.

"Hmm...it's a shot in the dark, but-" Rainbow Dash went up and peeked over the side- and had to bite her lower lip to keep a triumphant laugh from leaping forth. She laid on top of the crates, putting on a casual air.

"Hey, hows it goin?" she said coolly. Dumbbell's reaction was immediate. He stopped mid page turn as his back went rigid. He turned to see her and the book fell away, landing with the cover facing up, giving Rainbow Dash a clear view of it. Aha!

"What are you doing here, Rainbow Dash?" Dumbbell asked crossly, the way he said her name made it clear that he was pulling back on the reins of anger.

"Nothing much. It's a total coincidence that I happened to find you hear hiding behind a bunch of boxes reading a book." said Dash, pretending to inspect the bottom of her hoof. Dumbbell picked the novel up, looking grudgingly vulnerable under her gaze.

"Did you really find me all the way out here for a book?" he asked in a measured tone.

"Yeah. My book." Dash corrected.

The stallion scoffed. "You either have way too much time on your hooves or you've got problems. What's the matter, couldn't find anyone to bore with your Wonderbolt tricks?" Dumbbell stepped around the wall of crates, walking to anywhere else where Dash wasn't.

"Who would have thought you read books?" Dash chuckled slyly. "I wonder what everyone else would say..."

This made Dumbbell stop mid step. He turned back around and stomped back over to Dash, so close that their snouts bumped together.

"Just what the heck do you want, Crash?" he asked, the muted undercurrent threatened to spill over. "First you're jumping me in the streets back in Manehattan and now you're stalking me across Cloudsdale!" he paused, pulling back and glancing around the immediate area. "How'd you even know I'd be here?"

Rainbow Dash tilted her head, feigning innocence.

"Lucky guess?"

Dumbbell snorted and brought the book up between them, giving Rainbow Dash a rather harsh but level stare.

"So you're that desperate are ya?" He glanced down at the Daring Do cover one last time before he thrust the book onto Dash's chest. "Fine. Take it."

The sudden action took Dash by surprise. She had to reach out for the book before it clattered to the ground. She looked back at him, mouth agape as jolting realization struck her. As she watched him standing awkwardly with his head bowed too low to see his eyes from beneath his mane. She remembered her broken wing, the tasteless hospital food, and the first Daring Do book she had ever read, and how great it felt.

The memories came back for only a second but that was enough. Rainbow Dash was already tumbling in abrupt feelings of glee and somber understanding. She understood this all too well.

Dumbbell straightened and resolutely turned to walk away like a defeated warrior trying to get away with a fraction of dignity.

"Wait a minute, I don't want to take this. I was just ribbing you a little!" Dash said. But he was already airborne. flying away from the piers and back in the direction of the factory. Rainbow Dash cut him off, her forelegs stretched out to stop him mid-flight.

"Hold on a minute, will you?" Dash insisted.

"What do you want?" Dumbbell obviously wasn't interested in what Rainbow Dash had to say, he hadn't heard her the first time, but he stopped just short of flying right past her

"Look, if I'm reading you right, and I totally think I am, then I can say I know where you're coming from." Rainbow Dash said confidently. "And that's okay! Theres nothing wrong with liking books. I mean, hay, if I like it then you should know its cool!"

For a moment Dumbbell was silent either out of surprise or exasperation, or both. Rainbow Dash knew perfectly well that he didn't necessarily see her as a figure of coolness although he should in all honesty. But it was worth a shot to lower the tension and make him see reason.

After a little while, Dumbbell's ears went flat across his head and he looked out towards the airships. If Dash could read minds she'd guess he was weighing a risk. Finally he turned back and said, " So long story short, you weren't going to rest until you got your hooves onto this book,right?"

"Right!" Dash said elatedly. "But I've thought about and I think we can work something out."

Before Dumbbell could reply, Dash flashed a sportive smile. "I've got an idea!"


	3. Spoiler Warning!

Chapter 3

Rainbow Dash was doing figure eights all the way back to her home. Yes! At long last! The newest in the Daring Do series was hers! And she could hardly wait to read it. Several times already she had tried to read and fly at the same time. This never turned out to be the best idea. More than once she had flown too high and almost hit a bird, or flown too low and almost hit a tree. She actually did hit a tree in a last attempt to read and fly, and she saw stars for a good ten minutes.

"Okay...Maybe I should just wait till I get home." she said to herself as she stood on unsteady hooves.

It's a good thing Dumbbell wasn't here to see that!

A much more circumspect flight saw Rainbow Dash home safely. She galloped through the entrance hall , past the living room, and practically flew up the steps to her bedroom. She threw herself upon the soft fluffy bed, hugging the book for dear life.

"You're mine at last!"she said with a triumphant shout. Without wasting any time she started to read. Absorbing the words off the page as if they were words to live by.

The first night was blissful but eventually sleep took hold, allowing Daring Do's amazing adventures to come to life in her dreams. Sometimes she was bold enough to substitute the pith helmeted pony with her own visage. Those dreams were even more enjoyable.

Rainbow Dash arrived at work the next morning exhausted. But she was used to working with lack of sleep, and push come to shove she could always find a far off cloud to nap in. Work went on without incident and Dash went home, pulled a sandwich from the fridge and thought about what to do with the rest of her day.

Hmm, heh, read of course!

"Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash!"

The pegasus was already in her room. curled up in a bundle of pillows.

"Wait a sec, somethings missing...oh yeah!" Dash leapt off her bed and went to a nearby shelf, pulling several of the earlier Daring Do novels off of it in a single sweep. She placed them down on the bed in chronological order before curling back up into her pillows. "This one looks a lot longer than the rest. I"m gonna need some cross references!"

"Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash! Look out!"

It wasn't until the very moment she was ready to delve into the pages that she became aware of the rattling thuds encroaching upon her cloud home. And beneath all that somepony was outside shouting to get her attention.

" Rainbow Dash! Look out!"

Rainbow Dash recognized the voice.

"Pinkie Pie?" Or maybe it was Fluttershy, she couldn't tell anymore through the thunderous beat of something quite large barreling down the path towards her house.

A sudden wave a panic flooded her chest. What was happening? She jumped from her bed and went to the window.

"Whats going on out here!" she shouted moments before a massive green eye filled her entire view, staring fiercely back at her.

"It's a Hydra Migration!" Pinkie Pie shouted finally before the thing roared straight into Dash's face. Rainbow Dash hit the wall on the other side of her bedroom, going straight through it of course, as it was made of cloud. Dash floundered until she was able to regain control of herself in mid-air. She turned right side up just in time to see her house get pushed into the valley under the force of the yelling hydra.

"My house!" Rainbow Dash watched in disbelief as her house drifted away. She felt the anger rise in face as she turned to face the multi headed beast. "What's the big idea?"

The hydra, which Dash realized was somewhat smaller than what she had seen in the past, eyed her with its many green cat-like eyes that wavered back and forth on long slithery snake necks. It was examining her, trying to see if it could snatch her out of the air in a single leap.

Agitated beyond compare, Rainbow Dash was too eager to kick the creatures butt more than anything else.

"I don't know what you're doing outside of the swamps but know this! You have picked the wrong pony to mess with!" She reared up, ready to fly at the hydra head on and neck tie it better than Applejack could wrangle a bull, when something yellow and pink crossed her vision.

"Rainbow Dash, stop! Don't hurt it!"

Dash put on the breaks and shot back into the sky, high enough to be out of the hydra's reach. From there she saw another pegasus. "Fluttershy?"

The shy yellow pegasus flew up to meet her with a worried look in her eye.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash! I tried to stop this little one before he made it all the way out here but it just wouldn't listen to me." she said, looking at Dash's house that had been pushed several hundred feet from its original position.

Rainbow Dash's posture slumped at the reminder, the fact that her house had been pushed wasn't the problem, it was that the force was so strong, she was sure the inside was an absolute mess! It probably wouldn't have been too bad had she been given the chance to toss an anchor.

"Wait a minute." She then said, something her friend said clicking finally in her head. "Did you call it a 'little one'?"

"Yes, it's not fully grown." said Fluttershy demurely, as if hoping her friend would take this knowledge as an acceptable excuse for the hydra's actions. "You see, I just found out, well me and the majority of Ponyville just found out, that the hydra leave the bog and migrate to the ocean every hundred years or so to lay their eggs. But this little one here got a bit distracted."

"Well then the baby hydra just trashed my house! It's gonna take forever for me to push it back!" Rainbow Dash said, flustered before stopping to think. "Wait a minute...don't tell me that thing messed up Ponyville!"

Fluttershy shook her head hastily. "Oh no, Ponyville is okay. Maybe a smashed market stall or two, but he ran clean through it without leaving a mark."

"Like a razor toothed bulldozer." Dash said lamely. She couldn't believe how Fluttershy could talk about a rampaging swamp monster like a proud mother.

She looked down at the creature again and noticed that it hadn't moved. It's long necks weaved and twirled like a basket of charmed snakes. On top of one its heads she saw Pinkie Pie sitting precariously, with a fishing pole, a cupcake tied to the end of the rope.

"Pinkie Pie what are you doing on its head?" she asked.

Down below, sitting on the third head of the adolescent hydra, the pink pony was having a fairly difficult time keeping the other heads at bay, as all of them were contending for the little cupcake on the end of the rope.

"No, bad Delilah! Delvin you need to learn how to share! Donny, watch your manners!" The smallest head was bold enough to try to snap at the cupcake, which due to its size, nearly snapped Pinkie as well.

"Daphne! Just for that you're not getting any sprinkles!" Pinkie Pie shouted, dodging the teeth just in time

"Um...if it wouldn't be too much trouble, Rainbow Dash. We could really use your help escorting our friend back to Froggy Bottom." Fluttershy put on her best 'please don't be mad' face. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"Fine I'll help." Dash said in surrender. It wasn't like she couldn't help her friends.

As it were, the reason behind this strange one monster stampede were the very cupcakes Pinkie Pie used to keep the creature on track. Fluttershy had asked Pinkie Pie to concoct a batch of cupcakes based on a special recipe that attracted baby animals. Sometimes due to fear or stress they would be unresponsive to Fluttershy's coaxing as she went about her business making sure they all had proper shelter to last out the winter. To say the least the cupcakes worked well. Too well, which became very clear when the wind carried their sweet aroma all the way into the swamp.

"Ugh, I'm exhausted!" Later that day, as the sun set, Rainbow Dash trudged back through her front door, too tired to try pushing her house back to her prefered place. Heck maybe she was do for a slight scenery change. On the outside at least. But the inside...

Her bed was turned upside down, battered and bent at the bottom of her staircase. This pretty much set the tone of the impromptu redecoration.

"Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie owe me big time!" she grumbled crossly, though not caring enough to try and righten her bed. The couch would do well enough tonight.

The next morning, Dumbbell found Rainbow Dash in the weather factory locker room, snoring with her face pressed into the spine of the book. He thought for a moment about being courteous and waking up the snoring pony but stopped himself. Opting instead to use his hoof to slide the book out from under her head, letting it hit the table with a knock.

"Snnrt...mmm-wu-what?" Rainbow Dash pulled her head from the table, a trail of drool falling from her bottom lip. She looked down and noticed the Daring Do book was missing and immediately woke fully.

"Oh no! Where'd it go?" she exclaimed.

"Gah, this is disgusting! I'm not loaning you this just so you can muck it up with your drool, Crashface!" The brown pegasus held the book aloft, trying to shake it free of Dash's sleepy leavings. "It's mine for today anyway, see you tomorrow."

"Wait!" Rainbow Dash was up now, finally out of her stupor. Dumbbell turned back to see the bedraggled looking pony straight on.

"What in the world happened to you?" he asked. "Looks like you got hit by a-"

"I haven't finished reading yet!" Dash interjected. "Something happened yesterday after work and I barely got to read a single page!"

"And this is a problem for me, how?" Dumbbell asked mockingly.

"I haven't even got past the second chapter!"

"Ah I see..." Dumbbell looked around, disinterested. "Let me pretend I care. Okay, I'm done" And he turned to leave.

"Wait!" Dash called again. She was telling the truth and she couldn't let him leave with that book! Her speed came in handy, she made it to the exit before him, blocking the way so he couldn't get by. "I can't let you leave with that book!" she said desperately.

"Move it, Crash." Dumbbell used a hoof to pry her away from the door despite the mare's efforts to remain stationary. But Dash's reflexes were quick. She snatched the book away and retreated to the other side of the room.

"What the-Give it back, Rainbow Dash." Dumbbell said in annoyance. He wasn't in the mood to play games, especially not with her.

"You've got to give me another day, I swear!" Rainbow Dash was backing away slowly, clutching the book tightly. "I'm telling you the truth, I didn't get a chance to read anything yesterday."

"We had a deal, Dash." said Dumbbell dangerously, his voice had an air of finality. The way he often sounded when forcing his will onto other ponies. "Besides you've already had two days!"

Dash's flank hit the lockers of the far wall. She crouched down like a cornered cat, her eyes glinting nothing but enmity towards the stallion. "Not. Getting. This. Book!" she bellowed.

Dumbbell snorted. "I paid for it."

"Oh, did you really?" Dash pressed her back to the wall, the bags under her eyes made her seem very unbecoming, almost wild.

Dumbbell grimaced, the implication very clear. "You're so full of yourself that you were probably too busy showing off to—!" He quickly stopped himself, a crooked scheming smile spread across his face and he stepped back, giving Rainbow Dash some space.

"You know, you're right, Dashy. I've actually had plenty of time, and I am farther than you. It wouldn't be fair if I got to read more if you haven't had a chance to catch up...now would it." He tried to sound relaxed but his words made Dash's heart rate increase.

"Let's see..." Dumbbell tapped his chin, parsing out his thoughts. "You know despite what Daring Do says, she rarely ever actually works alone. She's got her friends, life lines, allies, sidekicks."

Rainbow Dash didn't know what to say, she just waited.

"How about I be the nice guy this time and catch you up now." His voice lowered and his smile became villainous.

"One word:Betrayal."

Rainbow Dash was on the alert. "Betrayal? Who?" she looked down at the novel's cover with searching eyes. As usual the picture on the front featured Daring Do as the sole protagonist.

"Oh-ho, now that is the twist! You remember how book six ended on a cliffhanger, right? Remember when Cabelleron kidnapped those archaeology students and was holding them in exchange for the Compass of the Forbidden Sanctum?"

"Well y-yeah, but." Rainbow Dash knew she needed to get away but for some reason felt frozen in place. Was it a lack of sleep? She felt weak.

"That museum security guard who was actually a secret agent, that guy! He-"

"No!" Rainbow Dash jumped up in an explosive impulse and forced her way past Dumbbell, running for the exit. "Don't say anything else! I haven't had a chance to read it yet!"

"You don't have time to read it, I'm helpin you out!" Dumbbell ran out of the locker room, hot on her heels and laughing like a mad pony.


	4. Reading and Misreading

Chapter 4

_Nine years ago, Cloudkicker flapped her small filly wings as hard as she could, trying her best to avoid attracting attention of any inquiring adults who would stop her and promptly ask why she was in such a rush. She was in luck. When she reached the little school-house, the home room teacher was absent, leaving several of her classmates milling about, and talking about the special event that was taking place later that day. Cloudkicker perched on the window sill, tapping her hoof on the glass. A colt named Thunderlane ran over and opened the window._

_"__Oh wow you guys are not gonna believe this!" Cloudkicker said, with large eyes beaming with excitement. "Rainbow Dash and that bully are finally going at it!"_

_"__What?" Thunderlane's question echoed in the faces of his nine other schoolmates._

_"__Where are they?" A filly asked._

_"__The gym at the second school yard! It's gonna be awesome!" Cloudkicker jumped back outside, ready to lead the way. "Come on, hurry up before the parents break them up!"_

* * *

><p>The ponies who saw the fight that day, if they can remember back that far, will usually tell you that Rainbow Dash won the fight easily. Though that may be the result of bias due to the very divergent reputations of the two ponies over time. One of them became a hero while the other became a bully that you always did your best to avoid. In truth it was more a draw. It took two flight camp coaches, one of them being Dash's father, and a teacher to disentangle the furious knot of feathers, fur and hooves away from each other. Dumbbell had a black eye and a busted bottom lip, and Rainbow Dash sported a broken nose and two lost teeth. She was lucky the dentist could put them back.<p>

These memories flooded into Rainbow Dash as she sat in an expectant slouch inside the weather factory superintendent's cluttered office. Her forehooves pressed together and her eyes bored a hole into the floor, while the elder pony in front of her shuffled a few papers. Either he wasn't in a hurry to pass judgement or he enjoyed watching Rainbow Dash stew nervously. Either way, Dash's discomfort was raising by the second. She had a feeling that somewhere in the complex, whether she'd seen it or not, Cloudkicker was laughing like the gleeful little instigator she had been during their foalhood. And Rainbow Dash herself had been defiant about it then, even proud! But now...

"So let me understand this fully, miss Dash. You thought it was proper to assault a fellow employee while on the clock, on weather management property, causing distraction and disruption of very important weather management work for..." He squinted one eye through his thick spectacles. "A Daring Do novel?"

Rainbow Dash flinched internally. When he put it that way it sounded horrible.

"Well I-I mean he-!" She sighed in resignation. In some irrational part of her mind, Dash told herself that it was in self-defense. But she knew that as a mature well adjusted adult pony, there was no excuse she could give."I'm sorry sir, I just don't know what I was thinking."

The superintendent pony signed. "Well I certainly haven't seen this kind of shocking behavior from you in the past, Rainbow Dash. Lucky for you, Dumbbell chose not to pursue the issue so I will let you off with a warning. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to suspend you for the rest of the week without pay."

"Yes sir!" Dash said. Secretly breathing a sigh of relief. Though the lack of funds may affect her gift giving capabilities, the repercussions could have been much worse, and still could be. What if word of this reached Captain Spitfire?

She would have to deal with damage control later. There was nothing left to do but go home. She was in the lowest possible mood and thoroughly embarrassed about her own actions. The result of which was now not only a lack of spending money that she was planning to use to buy presents. But there was no way she'd be reading Daring Do and the Crypt of the Dark King anytime soon.

"Today just sucks!" she thought to herself. Ponies enjoyed gossip. She wondered how long it would take for word of this to reach her friends.

Her path home brought Rainbow Dash over a cloud shuttle stop, which was nothing more than a sign and a bench sitting on top of a cloud. The shuttles ran paths all over Cloudsdale similar to the cable cars in Manehattan, only these were made specifically for the old, injured, ill, or too young. When your home floats many hundreds of feet above the ground, it's best to be cautious.

She flew over and saw a pony waiting by the bench for the next shuttle, surprised to see that it was Dumbbell with a patch of guas wrapped around his head. With his back to her, he didn't seem to notice. Rainbow Dash thought about what she'd done and felt the pang of guilt return. Going against her more sensible judgement, she landed, knowing she needed to make amends for the mess she had caused.

"Uh-ahem-hey, Dumbbell." Rainbow Dash leapt over the back of the bench and took a seat next to the brown stallion, trying to gage his emotions from the corner of her eye. He shifted, seemingly in response to her voice, but he stayed silent. She noticed the shuttle close by. It would be at the stop in about a minute.

"Heh, I guess I got a little carried away back there. But no harm no foul, right? How about we shake and call it even?" Rainbow Dash said, extending a hoof.

Dumbbell looked at her this time and Rainbow Dash retracted her hoof immediately.

"I didn't mean to hit you that hard." said Dash sorely.

"Beat it, Crash." He said. The shuttle pulled up and the doors opened expectantly. Dumbbell adjusted his saddle bag and jumped over the edge of the platform, leaving Rainbow Dash at a loss and an expectant shuttle driver waiting for some pony to step inside.

"Uh miss, are you going to get on or what?" The shuttle pony asked. But Rainbow Dash didn't hear him.

"I really didn't mean it!" Dash hollered, and she followed the other pegasus downwards. She was surprised that he was not flying towards his own home, instead heading straight for the ground.

'Is he going for Ponyville?' She thought, but he banked west and they both landed on the edge of

White Tail Wood, the place where the Running of the Leaves took place, only about a mile out from Ponyville. The forest was already awash with the colors of autumn, with only a few evergreens strewn about. When winter came most of the trees would become bereft of color.

Dumbbell started to trot straight into the forest. If he knew Dash had followed, he was ignoring her completely. She groaned and ran after him.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"Trying to get away from the most obnoxious mare in Equestria. But it isn't working!" Dumbbell hissed. Rainbow Dash jumped in front of him, demanding eye contact.

"None of this would have happened if you weren't being such a jerk!" she said.

"Me? I'm the jerk? Well excuse me for making the obvious mistake of thinking the element of loyalty could actually keep a promise." He turned away, leaving the blue pegasus to seeth.

"What did you just say?" Rainbow Dash growled.

"What I'm saying is... this is the stupidest argument I think I've ever had. Ever. And it's not even worth it. If you want to tell everyone in Cloudsdale that I read then fine. Go for it! I'd rather put up with that than deal with you."

Rainbow Dash looked down at her hooves sullenly.

'C'mon Rainbow Dash you're better than this.'

Giving up never sat well with her but for once Dumbbell was right. This was getting out of hand, heading in a direction she didn't want to go .

"I wasn't going to tell anypony that you like books." she admitted, this time a lot calmer than before. "You are..." she sighed heavily. "You're right, we haven't been going about this the right way. And it's my fault, I don't want to fight you about this."

Dumbbell stopped, turning to look at her curiously.

"I actually think it's really cool that you like Daring Do. But I guess I was so psyched to read it that I wasn't giving your feelings any real consideration. And I'm sorry." Rainbow bowed her head. "I'll just wait for the official release like everypony else." Feeling sufficiently humbled, Dash turned to leave.

"Wait a second." Dumbbell's voice was constrained but it was enough to get Rainbow Dash to look back at him. The Daring Do book at hoof, looking at it in consideration and back at her with a wry glance.

"How about this," he said. "Instead of this swapping hooves thing, lets just read it at the same time." The suggestion was brief and simple. Rainbow Dash thought for a moment. It could work for her, given that she now had the whole week off, a veritable vacation if not for the fact of the circumstances.

"That could probably work..." she said aloud. "But what about you?

Dumbbell smirked. "Hah, would you believe I bagged a whole week off? With pay by the way."

Dash was flabbergasted. "What?"

"Yep." He pointed his hoof at his "wound". "I guess I got you to thank for that. They really thought your little sucker punch gave me a concussion so I played along. Figured I deserve a little RnR." He pulled the bandages away, further emphasising his health. "See? Not even a bruise. I got plenty of time." He looked towards Rainbow Dash. "What about you?"

Rainbow Dash knew admission of the truth would send him rolling.

"Well I-. Don't worry! I'll have the time!" She finally managed to stammer. Just a small lie of omission.

"Hey, since we're so close to Ponyville, why don't we fly to my place? No better time than the present!" she asked.

"Sure why not."

"WooHoo! Time for another wild ride on the Daring Do express!" Rainbow Dash started jumping around like an excited filly. She'd finally be able to make some progress!

Dumbbell could only stare at the spectacle. "Eh, yeah. Your enthusiasm is kinda frightening." He watched her twirl and dive in and out of the tall trees. As soon as she'd started, Dash put on the brakes, as if suddenly realising that revealing her fan girlish behavior so openly wasn't auspicious. She landed and folded her wings while clearing her throat.

"Right! Let's go!"

Just a short time later, the pair stood in front of Rainbow Dash's cloud home. Immaculate on the outside though on the inside still a total mess. She hadn't had much time to clean but it was something she'd just have to deal with. Flying all the way to Dumbbell's house would have taken twice as long.

They pretty much flew around Ponyville instead of flying over it. Of course she knew that this was an innocent meeting, but for the sake of not having to explain to everypony later, it was better now to be discrete.

"Hope you don't mind the cold air. My heater is on the fritz." She said as they arrived.

"Ni-ice digs." Dumbbell complimented. Rainbow Dash pushed open the impressive wooden doors, revealing the spacious entry way. It was probably the cleanest area in her home . It was the only place besides the kitchen where she was able to flip everything right side up before rushing to work that morning. As they walked further inside, the internal state of affairs became much more obvious.

"Wow." They both stopped as soon as they reached the main living area, taking in the sight. "Like I said, nice digs." The humor in his voice was palatable. "Looks like a wild party ran through this place. Is that the 'weird thing' you were talking about?."

"No, no it wasn't a party." Rainbow Dash said, suddenly feeling self-conscious. For the most part Rainbow Dash's home was a private abode. Fluttershy being the only other pegasus who'd been inside. And in this situation it was strictly for the chance to read and not out of any wish to spend time with the pony who owned the book.

She was then fully aware of the fact that Dumbbell was actually the second pony to ever see the inside of her home, and in such a horrible state no less! It was exposing and a little uncomfortable, like allowing a stranger to read your secret diary.

"So I guess over here then?" Dumbbell went to the kitchen table, pulling out a chair. "Looks like the only place in this whole house that's right side up."

"Hah. Funny." Dash took an opposite seat at the breakfast table. The kitchen was as good a place as any. The orange book was dropped on the table and pushed towards Dash's hooves expectantly.

"Since this was my idea, you get to read." he said, leaning his chair back on its rear legs. Rainbow Dash watched him incredulously.

"Me?"

"Yeah you. Now get started. Chapter two is where you left off, right?"

"Why don't you do it?"

"Because I'm injured remember?" Dumbbell pointed at his perfectly fine forehead. "It wouldn't do for a pony with a head injury to read. You might've given me dyslexia or somethin."

Rainbow Dash grumbled something under her breath but took the book and flipped to the beginning of chapter two. She scanned the first few sentences before she started to read out loud.

Under the mask of darkness, the thick fog hovered menacingly across the surface of the deep dark waters. Though appearing to be mostly still, it was an illusion of the mist. Beneath the little punt the water churned and rolled when the slightest of currents met the bottom of the boat, rocking it gently. The invisible forces teasing, threatening, and testing the adventurous mare who waited stolidly in the stern. Her cloaked benefactor, the only other soul to share the craft, stood at least three heads taller on the bow, a crooked staff gripped firmly in his claws. It was a conduit for his magic and the only way to propel the boat across the canal towards the craggy base of the castle mountain.

"The graves of his children reside on the top floors of this place. The dark king's tomb resides at the very bottom, below the sky, below the rock, below the water." he instructed. "And between the two points resides many a great hazard." The cloak to look back at Daring. "But your reputation precedes you, I assume impending danger doesn't do much to deter you these days."

Daring Do smirked at the tall hooded figure. "The thought never crossed my mind."

"Good, then you will need this." The cloak reached into its folds and pulled out a small metal lantern, unremarkable in design, and held it out towards her—

"Is that seriously the best you can do?" Dumbbell's voice suddenly cut through Dash's concentration, pulling her eyes away from the pages. He was leaning over the table, his face twisted into a grimace. She felt a rich heat rise on her face.

"What are you talking about? I'm reading it just fine!"

"Not as bad as some kid reading a boring book report, maybe." he said. "But about as good as some stuffy old pony giving a eulogy. You call yourself a Daring Do fan, heh, seriously?"

"Why don't you try giving me a few minutes to get into it?" She asked, honestly feeling insulted. She had heard the awkwardness in her voice well enough. "It's not like I read in front of random ponies across my kitchen table every day!"

"Well I'm the one who has to suffer through it so again!" Dumbbell pushed his chair back to its original position. "With feeling."

"How about you read then?"

"Good idea, Crash. I could just read it myself." He pulled the book over to himself. "I'll just let myself out, thanks."

"Augh, wait!" Rainbow Dash reached across the table and pulled the book out of his grasp, slamming it back down in front of her in the same spot she was on before.

All Dash wanted to do was tell him where to shove his 'feeling', but quickly pushed against the idea. It had been hard enough simply getting to this point. And damaging the already tenuous truce she shared with Dumbbell wouldn't win her any favors. Her eyes narrowed at him as she fought to keep her temper in check.

'I'm starting to remember why I never liked you.' Rainbow Dash mused in disdain while he grinned haughtily down at her, reminding her of those long ago school yard days.

"Fine."

There was a silence that hung over them both for another few seconds, growing heavier over Dash's ears all the while to a point where she could almost hear ringing.

For a moment her thoughts darted to her busted heater. She'd need to get a repair pony to come all the way out here to fix it or she would spend the night shivering. Or maybe Twilight could take a look at it? Yeah, she was super smart, but it would be kinda weird asking a princess to fix her cloud radiator. In a flash the thought of her friend in regal dress and tiara entered her mind. She was also holding a wrench in her mouth. The ridiculousness of the image made her brain tickle with laughter and apparently the mental laughter was showing up on her face.

"Ahem!" Dumbbell coughed to pull Rainbow Dash back to the real world. "Is there a joke I'm missing out on?"

Shaking her head, Dash swallowed once to refocus her thoughts back to the page. And slowly, but with a lot more feeling as Dumbbell had instructed, she began to read.

The journey through the pages took them to the end of chapter five. With only brief interruptions to clarify details. Reaching the end was almost like coming up for air for Rainbow Dash. The Dark passages and perils falling away to her much more boring kitchen and the shocking cold that chilled her wings.

"Yikes! It just got super cold all of a sudden!" Dash looked up at her clock, 5:00. The pony who coined time flies when you're having fun wasn't kidding! The fall days were short and the sun was already well into setting against the orange sky, which accounted for the drop in temperature.

"Wow it's late. Where did the time go?" Dumbbell asked. Rainbow Dash managed to hear him over her own musings. From a window she could tell that it was quite dark already and on any normal day, she would just now be getting off work. It was pretty eerie, they'd been sitting there for hours.

"I guess it's getting pretty late." She responded. "So you wanna call it quits for today?"

"I could go for another chapter." he said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, feels weird ending on chapter five. I mean Daring Do is just about to pull off the death mask of Cambrinum's second child! What kind of trap could trump the first two?"

"You need to know too, right?"

"Yeah, I really do."

Despite herself, Rainbow Dash felt the smile on her face grow. This was more fun than she thought.

"Seriously though it's freezing in here. You don't feel it?" Rainbow Dash asked

Dumbbell shrugged. "I'm alright, I've been colder. Let's just get chapter five out of the way because it's getting late."

"Sure, just give me a sec to grab a jacket or something!" Rainbow Dash ran upstairs to her bedroom.

Seconds later there was a knock at the door, or at least what Dumbbell assumed was a knock, it was more like short taps coming from the general direction of the front door.

'Whoever this is on the other side is knocking like the door is made out of glass' he thought. He figured Rainbow Dash would never hear it and it was a wonder he could himself.

"Um, hello? Rainbow Dash?" came a timid voice. "It's me. I'm so so sorry I wasn't able to help you yesterday. Once we brought the baby hydra back to Froggy Bottom, one of my blue bird friends told me that there was an emergency back at the cottage."

For a moment Dumbbell looked at the door blankly, not sure who it was he was listening to. And then suddenly the memory hit him. That mousey voice! There was only one pony in all of Equestria who sounded like this. He felt like he was going deaf trying to pick out what she was saying from behind the thick wooden door and finally gave up. Dash wouldn't mind, right? He pulled the door open just as the yellow mare began her apologetic tangent, her ears flat against her head and eyes squeezed shut. She looked like she was pleading for her life.

"Oh I'm so sorry Rainbow Dash! I figured that after that incident with the hydra yesterday, your house would be a real mess! And I meant to come by earlier to help out but the doe I had been taking care of for the past few months went into labor! Which is very strange because normally deer have their babies in the spring time. So I had to watch her all yesterday and most of today because she was having trouble relaxing, but it all went okay. And then I had to wash the baby and make sure she was bundled up all warm and snug, then feed the animals and finally fly out here to he-" Then she finally opened her eyes, as if sensing the door had been opened.

The last thing she expected to see was the imposing form of Dumbbell to fill her vision.

"eeeaaa..." Fluttershy's words stuck inside her throat and her mouth hung open in a slight slant. Dumbbell leaned against the door frame enjoying the moment, appearing pointedly unconcerned by Fluttershy's surprise.

"Well if it isn't the klutz! Long time no see!"

"I...I...I..."

"Interesting story you got." he sniffed the air and sneered. "That would explain why you smell like a barn."

The shy yellow pegasus finally remembered to inhale, but she looked as if she could literally fall through the cloud when she shrank away a few steps.

"Im sorry, I..." She looked left and right. This was Rainbow Dash's home wasn't it?

"Yeah you got the right address." Dumbbell gained the sudden ability to read minds, further throwing Fluttershy off balance.

"It's not that! Well I mean-it's just- a-a-am I interrupting something? O-or maybe you're here to fix the radiator?"

"Gah, do I really need to buy a new jacket already? This one is full of holes and I only bought it last year!" Dash took off the ragged coat and tossed it to the floor. Damaged apparel just came with the territory of being an awesome pony, perfecting stunts even in the cold months. In her search for warm clothes, the best she had done so far was a set of white socks. If nothing else her hooves were warm. But her wings were still freezing!. Now where were those elusive wing warmers? During the search she heard voices from downstairs. Curiously she walked to the banister of her second story, from it she could see two pegasi conversing at her front door. She stomped her hoof and leapt on top of the banister.

"Who told you it was okay to answer my door?" she said angrily, gaining the attention of the ponies below. They both looked at her, wide-eyed. And it wasn't until then that she realized the mare standing on the outside was her good friend Fluttershy. One of the last ponies she had expected to see at this time.

"F-Fluttershy?"

"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy said simply, her mood lifting slightly despite the bizarre situation. "I'm sorry for dropping by so late in the day, and if you're busy I can' always come back late-"

"Just leaving."

Fluttershy wasn't exactly sure if she had heard the other pegasus say anything or not. All she knew was that she barely had time to step out of the way in time. Clumsily she tripped over her own hooves and fell face first into the cloud. She pulled her head out just in time to see Dumbbell flying away at full speed without so much as a backwards glance.

"Was it something I said?" she asked as Rainbow Dash ran to the door.

"Where does he think he's going?"

Fluttershy stood up, shaking a bit of white stuff from her mane. " I think I might have scared him away. If you both were- well I had no idea you were having a stallion over!" She turned away from Rainbow Dash, as if she couldn't bring herself to look at her friend fully, a dark blush spread across her nose.

"P-please forgive me, Rainbow Dash, you were probably planning this night for weeks and I had messed it all up since yesterday, haven't I?"

"Fluttershy I don't get what you're-"

"Eep!"

No longer able to bear the weight of her own embarrassment, Fluttershy fled, flying back the way she had come.

"Fluttershy come back!" But it was too late. Fluttershy was flying faster than she had ever seen the little yellow pegasus book it before. She also noted with a bit of annoyance that the atmosphere outside felt better than the frigid air inside her home. Oh the drawback of living inside a cloud. She went back inside and realized that Dumbbell had actually left without the book, and in that she reveled. Making her way to the kitchen, Rainbow Dash passed a full body wall mirror that hung in the entryway. She finally managed to see herself fully. The tousled mane from trying on the jacket, the white socks...

"Oh...ah crud!"


	5. It's a Date

Chapter 5

After the abrupt ending of their reading session, Dumbbell realized he'd left his book behind just as he reached Cloudsdale. A definite annoyance but one that could wait till later to deal with. With his calendar substantially clearer for the week he had time to spare yet for some reason, the idea of Rainbow Dash getting ahead in the story without him was incredibly irksome. So he got up the next day, early enough that his roommate Hoops was still snoring, and flew back to collect what was his.

Luckily Rainbow Dash was already awake. As he approached he saw the little blue pegasus on the ground below her home stretching and exercising her wings and legs, probably a daily routine. It was something he was used to. He dropped down next to Rainbow Dash who stopped her routine when she saw him coming.

"I can't believe I made it all the way back to Cloudsdale without Daring Do." he said simply. "So I'm here to get it back."

Dash pulled an odd face. "And good morning to you too!" she said. "Fine, fine, it's right where you left it. Let me get it." Dash zipped up to her cloud home and came back book in hoof moments later. "Here ya go."

Dumbbell took the book with a skeptical eye lingering on the mare. "You're actually handing it over without another freak-out session?"

Dash shrugged. "Yeah. It's no big deal." She said while going into a hover. "As long as you're not belting out spoilers like a jackass, then everythings cool!"

"Hey!" Dumbbell protested but before he could say anything, Rainbow Dash was already in the air. She landed on the roof of her cloud home, surveying the valley below it. When the hydra roared it had pushed her house off the path and over the forest. She jumped off her roof, flying in big loose circles around the cloud structure. Gaining speed for a few seconds and then slowing again and landing on the roof once more. She did this several more times before Dumbbell flew up to her level.

"What are you doing?" he asked curiously. Rainbow Dash spat on her hoof and pointed it upwards, testing the wind direction.

"What does it look like I'm doing? Moving my house!" she responded.

Dumbbell looked down, just over the curve of the roof he could see a window peering into the living room. From his angle he could see the couch and an end table with a lamp sitting on top, they were all set up right and he remembered how much of a wreck Dash's placed looked the day before.

"You're about to move a house by yourself?" he asked.

"Uh huh."

"With the furniture still inside?"

"Yep!"

"Are you crazy?"

Dash scoffed. "You don't know the meaning the word." she said as she flared her wings. "Since you're here you may as well observe!"

"Your Sonic Rainboom is just going to obliterate everything."

Rainbow Dash twirled in the air, turning to face him upside down with her hooves crossed. "Are you callin me a one trick pony?"

Dumbbell shrugged and then he grinned. "I dunno, am I?" He tapped on the dome surface with the tip of his hoof. Solid of course, he wondered why she put her house so close to the ground in the first place!

"I've helped pull a few homes before. These things are a lot heavier than they look, y'know."

Rainbow Dash scrutinized him with a look. "Yeah, and?"

"And, miss crazy cannon ball, flying into your house at break neck speeds ain't gonna do nothin good for it!"

"I'll have you know that there is more to my awesomeness than just my mind-boggling speed. You've seen me in action, you know I've got great control!"

For a few moments Dumbbell considered her words. "Alright, show me."

"Then stand back." Was all she said before shooting straight up into the air.

Understanding the destructive capabilities behind Dash's speed, Dumbbell did exactly that. He landed on top of a cloud a safe distance away, so he'd have some place to duck if something went wrong. Rainbow Dash quickly gained speed, going in a wide circle above her home until her form was nothing more than a streak of blue. He could see the tornado of wind forming and growing with each successful spin forming a funnel. It held for several minutes before slowly lowering around the boundary of the house. It was then that he realized with a start that she was literally creating a tornado, much like the ones used to tunnel water though only a fraction of the size, all on her own.

The wind tunnel touched down and lurched forward, first unsteadily, the column wobbled and splayed backwards and forwards, threatening to collapse and probably catapult its creator off like a rocket. Dumbbell was beginning to feel rough gusts of air cutting into the cloud he was sitting on and could see the wind blowing against the tree tops as the tornado put out its wild energy. He braced himself as the tornado slowly began to slide along the ground, taking Rainbow Dash's home along with it. Once it reached the center of the path the twister dissipated, revealing the cloud structure was still in one piece and finally back in its original position. Rainbow Dash came to a gradual stop, landing atop the domed roof once again, her flowing wind-blown mane making her appear like a majestic queen atop a castle.

"And there you have it." she said victoriously. "Didnt even break a sweat!"

"Impressive." Dumbbell said when he flew over. Even he had to admit that pulling a house this size on nothing but self-made wind power was a spectacle. It usually took a harness and a strong back. "Good job. You moved a really big cloud."

Dash's high countenance immediately fell. "Leave." she grumbled, turning away and gliding down to her front door.

"What? I was giving a compliment!" Dumbbell laughed and followed her down to the large double doors.

"Come on then, I'll show you." Rainbow Dash went inside and he followed. Upon reaching the living room he noticed that the place was spotless. Not even a single overturned vace, crooked picture frame, or toppled lamp. The complete opposite of what he had seen the day before.

"Wow, okay I'm givin it to ya. This is pretty sweet."

"Like you had a reason to doubt.."

Dumbbell smirked. "Yeah well thanks for the book, Dash ." He turned to leave, he needed to get back before anyone noticed him missing but paused at the door."So when do we meet up again? Same time, different place?"

Rainbow Dash looked at him quizzically. "Same time, same place if that's okay with you." She nervously scratched the back of her head. "I'm not expecting any more surprises, heh."

Dumbbell understood and felt a smile afflicting the corners of his mouth despite himself. His thoughts returned to that late evening. Flipping pages, the setting sun, the socks. He coughed, suddenly becoming aware of the approaching winter air. It would be snowing soon.

"Cool, well, uh, see ya then."

[hr]

The door opened soundlessly to a dark apartment when he finally returned home. A good sign, he wouldn't have to worry about explaining where he'd been-

"Well well well...looks who's back from their little rendezvous."

Dumbbell froze in the darkness of the apartment. Trying to see through it was pointless but it didn't matter, he recognized the voice.

"I'm surprised you know what that word means." Dumbbell sighed. "And why aren't you at work?" On the far side of the living room a lamp clicked on revealing Hoops sitting on the couch, legs crossed, putting on his best impression of some mad scientist. Both he and Dumbbell had been best friends since foalhood and were currently sharing a rented space in Cloudsdale.

"I could ask you the same thing and-hey!"

Dumbbell walked towards his bedroom on the left side while thinking up a quick lie.

"Score needed my help with something at the gym so I took the day off and flew over early." He said. He hoped Hoops wasn't privy to yesterday's weather factory incident. "Why are you still here?" he asked. He placed his bag on top of his bed and turned around just in time to slap Hoops' face with his noise.

"Gah-" he stepped back rubbing his nostrils. "What?"

"Dude I don't believe you. Nothing at the gym would need you to take your saddlebag." The orange stallion straightened. Given his natural height, which was a comfortable head taller than the average stallion, it was easy to see over his friend.

"What's in that anyway?" Hoops asked suspiciously, pointing towards the bag.

"None of your business is what's in it!" Dumbbell bristled in an attempt to be intimidating, it may have worked on any other pony. Hoops respectively left his friend's personal bubble but he wasn't phased.

"Right..." He tapped his chin with a hoof. "So, who's the girl?"

"What?" The look on Dumbbell's face was incredulous.

"You heard me, bro. So what's her name? Someone I know?" Hoops asked behind a gradually expanding grin.

"You actually think I went to see a girl at this time of day?" Dumbbell asked lamely.

"Dude! Any time of day is a good time to see a girl!"

Dumbbell nodded. "Yeah. Right." He knew there was no point to argue. Let Hoops believe what he will as long as he didn't learn the truth. "No one important."

Hoops continued. "Well if we're both playin hookie today lets go out and hang some place!"

Dumbbell looked at him wryly. "So you're admitting that you're bumming out today."

"Pssh, thought I was catching a head cold or somethin but I think the extra sleep did me some good. And there's no point going in this late. We can't sneak in and we'd just get chewed out by the boss.

[i]'You'd get chewed out'[/i] Dumbbell thought, he was free the whole week. He smiled at the thought, so Hoops didn't know about Rainbow Dash headbutting him on the winter work floor .

"If you're not worried about anybody from the complex spotting ya, we can go the Clouddoseum. They're having some games today, right?"

Hoops draped a foreleg across Dumbbell's shoulders. "You read my mind. C'mon lets get over there before they start making those soft pretzels. The only way to eat em is fresh!"


	6. Not a Date, A Challenge!

Chapter 6

Dumbbell and Hoops were greeted to the vibrant hum from the semi-crowded stands of the cloudosseum.

"Hey there's a good spot over there!" Hoops pointed to a cloud seat that was high but not too high that they wouldn't be able to see anything. Below them it was easy to tell what the day's event was going to be. A team relay chariot race—a favorite event for pegasi who decided to spend their day watching sports, second only to aerial jousting. The first few rounds were just beginning; the three teams were hitching their starter ponies up to their chariots, each one customized and decorated to represent their teams.

"Hey, it's those Drumfire guys!" Dumbbell pointed excitedly at the last and rowdiest looking of the teams. Two stallions and a mare, all looking tough and wild. Some were waving and posturing back at the cheering crowd while their largest flier was making a show of balancing their chariot on just his extended hind leg and tossing it in the air before catching it again with a well-placed forehoof.

"Those aren't made out of clouds, you know," said Hoops admiringly before taking a large bite out of his fresh pretzel.

"They all love to act like a bunch of peacocks!" Dumbbell shouted towards the Drumfires, unimpressed by the chariot juggling act.

"And you don't?" Hoops asked.

"ATTENTION!" a voice boomed. "Are you hot-blooded colts and fillies ready for a real treat?" The crowd roared in response.

"Well, you better be," the announcer yelled back, "because our final contestants are none other than the legendary Drumfires!"

Hoops cheered through a mouthful of pretzel. The crowd were positively ecstatic as the Drumfires flew over to the racetrack and prepared themselves.

"This race is going to be like no other!" the announcer continued.

"Will the Drumfires be able to maintain their unstoppable winning streak, or will the Talonstorms be able to snatch back a victory they so desperately need to get their place in the finals? It all comes down to this race, folks!"

"Psh, give me a break," Dumbbell sighed. "The Talonstorms don't even stand a chance."

"Are you kidding?" Hoops replied. "Have you not seen their track record?"

"Yeah, but they've been doing consistently bad this year. Swifty ain't as good as he used to be."

"Well you gotta hand it to him. He can come up with that extra hit of endurance when he needs to."

Their conversation was stifled by the announcer and a blare of trumpets marking the start of the race.

"On your marks! Get set! GO!" A loud pop and a streamer of colored smoke shot into the air.

"And they're off!" the announcer screamed over the cheering ponies in the stand. The first runners launched from their platforms, chariots in tow.

[hr][hr]

Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, it was Rarity and Fluttershy's spa day. Rarity was brisk and talkative as they entered the building while Fluttershy did more listening than talking as usual.

"Oh you just have no idea! I'm telling you, Fluttershy, that Roseluck is biting off far more than she can chew with that stallion. I mean an apiarist and a flower merchant, can you even imagine?"

The little yellow pegasus creased her brow in thought before responding.

"I don't think the notion is too bad. I mean the partnership seems to be beneficial to both. Think of all the pollination they'd be able to do." she said, which earned a tittering laugh from Rarity.

"Well, if you put it that way, Fluttershy-" She cut herself short when they entered the main spa area.

"Good morning, Aloe. Fluttershy and I are here for the usual, and we'd like to start with the hot tub herbal soak, please."

They paid their bits and were quickly situated in the spa's central hot tub. Luckily they were the only two using it which gave them the privacy to converse freely. Rarity continued to gab while Fluttershy nodded and added to the conversation whenever she could find an opening. The unicorn's topic of discussion drifted between business opportunities and romance, sometimes referencing a romance novel she was reading about two business ponies from competing companies having a clandestine summer fling. There the topic hung while they soaked in the soothing herbal bath, though Fluttershy's involvement lessened more and more and her attitude became sullen. It didn't take too long for Rarity to realize she was talking to herself.

"Fluttershy, is there something wrong?"

At first Fluttershy didn't appear to be listening, looking down at the submerged half of her body.

Rarity leaned in closer. "Fluttershy?" Fluttershy jolted out of her daydream, blinking several times before looking at her friend. She looked conscience-stricken.

"Oh it's n-nothing. I was just thinking..." the yellow pegasus trailed off, looking back at the lightly swirling water.

"You're not usually like this, dear. Our spa dates are meant to relax, release, and rejuvenate!"

"I know," Fluttershy replied, "I'm just a little distracted, that's all."

"Distracted?" Rarity asked in concern. "By what? Is everything alright?"

"Oh, no. Everything's fine. Don't worry, Rarity."

"Is it a stallion?" Rarity pressed with a mischievous smile. Fluttershy's face reddened and she retreated behind her mane, "No! Nothing like that," Fluttershy squeaked. "Well, sort of."

"Sort of?" Rarity hummed.

"I..." Fluttershy's voice died away as she struggled to think of something to say. "I think I really messed something up the other day."

"Oh dear. What went wrong, if you don't mind me asking?" Rarity gave her friend a confiding smile. "You know you can trust me with anything."

"Well, it's just that—and it's been bothering me all day—I went to Rainbow Dash's house yesterday to help her clean up the mess the young hydra made."

Rarity raised a hoof up to her mouth. "The same one that nearly crushed my boutique? Oh no, what happened to Rainbow Dash's house?"

"It's still in one piece, don't worry." Fluttershy assured her. "But the inside was a complete mess, so after she helped Pinkie and I bring the hydra back to Froggy Bottom Bog, I went back the next day to help her put things back in order."

"I see..."

"And well... I made it to her front door and..." Fluttershy paused, glancing away.

"Yes?"

Fluttershy sank back into the whirlpool. "And the pony who answered the door..." her voice trembled as her throat tightened. "Wasn't Rainbow Dash."

A moment of silence stood between them before Fluttershy's words registered. "Oh... I see." Rarity glanced at the ceiling as if letting all of her thoughts tumble into place, then she smiled. "I see!" Rarity leaned back towards Fluttershy before she had time to react.

"Who was he?" Rarity asked, taking Fluttershy by surprise.

"Wh-who was he?" she stammered.

"Yes, yes! Oh, please tell me you know who he was!"

"Well...it was...um..." Fluttershy shifted away just a few inches but Rarity quickly recovered that small distance. "It was-uh..."

"Was it that handsome Captain of the Wonderbolts?" Rarity interrupted eagerly.

Fluttershy shook her head feebly and retreated again. "No."

"Hmmm, how about that rather dashing cadet I met when we visited Rainbow Dash at the academy? Thunderlane!"

"Um, no," Fluttershy whispered as she sank further down into the water to hide.

Rarity sighed, "Well then, who was it?"

Fluttershy looked at Rarity pleadingly, "I'm not sure Rainbow Dash would—"

"Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Rarity begged.

Fluttershy whimpered and withdrew herself under the water until Rarity could only see the teal of her eyes and the pink of her mane.

"Dumbbell," Fluttershy mumbled into the water. The name came out in an incomprehensible ripple of bubbles.

Rarity frowned, flicking her ear. "Say that again?"

"Dumbbell," she repeated, more firmly this time.

"Dumbbell? Who's that?" Rarity asked.

"Umm, well... he's a... a friend from school. You might have met him that one time when you and Rainbow Dash performed in the Young Flier's Competition?"

"Oh,[i] that[/i] competition."

"Yes," Fluttershy continued, "Well Dumbbell was the stallion who... complimented your wings while we were giving you a tour of the weather factory." Immediately Fluttershy remembered that pretty much everyone in the weather factory had paid compliment to her wings, save for those in the snowflake department. "Brown coat, blonde mane, muscular?"

Rarity, ever the socialite, had to sort through the dozen to a hundred or so faces in her mind in an attempt to remember a stallion she had met only once. Just how blonde was his mane? What was the color of his eyes? How tall was he?

"I think I may remember him, although not very much. But, anypony who complimented those deceptively beautiful wings must have good taste!"

Fluttershy grimaced slightly. Apparently Rarity hadn't picked up on Dumbbell's sarcasm, and she had certainly been too busy enjoying her own temporary limelight to have heard the insults.

[i]Oh, Rarity.[/i]

The unicorn did a quick double take. "You did say he's a friend, correct? Or is there something else I should be concerned about?"

Fluttershy smiled. "No it's just... history. But it doesn't matter. Ponies change."

[hr]

"You're gonna need an extra team member! I've got my grandmother on speed dial!" laughed Dumbbell.

"C'mon, Silverwing! Don't let that lightweight pass you up." shouted Hoops.

Dumbbell and Hoops weren't the only ponies cheering and heckling in the stands. Though they were probably doing more than a lion's share. Both had bits on the line...with each other. And neither of them wanted their favorite team to lose. Their calls were muted in the cacophony hoots and excited hollers that escalated every time one racer overtook the other, who were practically on top of each other as they rounded the turn and belted down the straight a way with the weighted chariots trailing behind.

"And they round the corner with Highball in an aggressive lead! But Silverwing is gaining ground, and Tango's sharp moves through the obstacle course is earning her points! This race is more than just speed, it's also skill! Silverwing's caught up, they're neck and neck! This could be a photo finish!"

Only a few meters from the finish line, the lead racer twisted in his harness as if trying to direct his body towards the stands. His Chariot swung around, nearly smacking Silverwing in the face. She swerved, and dodged disaster by inches. The crowd of ponies gasped as Highball lost control and hit against the partition. His chariot wedged into the cloud material and stuck tight, leaving the race pony to dangle hopelessly by the harness.

"Oh! Looks like we have our first wipe out! I don't know if the Drumfires will be able to recover from it in time!"

A trio of ponies who waited on the edge of the course flew to the disabled racer, helping him escape his harness and quickly dislodge the chariot from the partition that separated the racers from the crowd.

"Woah, that looked pretty bad." said Hoops, sitting down after the fever of the crowd seemed to dampen. "Think it was a wing cramp?"

"Probably. But if it's worse then they're a player short."

Hoops grinned. "Then the Talonstorms are gonna win it!"

"By a technicality, and that's not a real win." Dumbbell scowled as he watched the trio of aid ponies helping Highball to the medical station. The race continued unabated and as soon as the downed chariot had been pulled out of the cloud, the winner had crossed the finish line. The cheers of the crowd swelled.

"The winner is Silverwing by a mile!"

As with every round, the two friends watched as the obstacles on the race track began to morph and repair itself with the aid of pegasus magic. The weave poles moved closer together and the cloud hoops rearranged to make navigating them more difficult. The next round would start in only a few minutes, with the next round of fliers stepping up to the starting line. Drumfire hadn't returned from the medical station and it was assumed by most that he wasn't coming out. Hoops turned towards his friend with a smirk.

"Highball is the Drumfire's best flier, dude, they're so done for."

Dumbbell's look was one of defiance. "Not if I can help it." he said as he stood up and spread his wings, the ponies on his left side ducked and scooted away while uttering complaints.

"What are you doing?" Hoops asked, just barely able to hear himself over the congregation.

"Here, hold onto my pretzel for me, would ya?" Dumbbell said and pushed the snack towards his friend. "I'm not about ta' lose another bet to you!" He flew out of the stands, in the direction of the food courts before Hoops could get a word in.

"Running away isn't gonna change anything! You still owe me fifty bits from the last time! Just get it over with!"

But Dumbbell didn't respond and was soon out of sight.

"Huh, sore loser." Hoops muttered. The game was far from over and he didn't want to lose his seat just to get up and go after his friend. He'd tell him the score when it ended. He turned back to look down at the racing course. There was usually a brief pause between rounds so the teams could set up their next racer. But with the Drumfires down a flier, Hoops was expecting an announcement of elimination.

A pegasus flew out from one of the locker rooms to the platform at the center of the arena. Hoops hadn't seen him though, at that moment wondering if it was worth slipping away to buy another pretzel, when a mare from the row just above Hoops leaned forward and tapped him on the shoulder. He jolted and turned around to face the pretty red pony.

"What's up, babe?"

"Hey, isn't that your friend down there?"

Hoops tilted his head in confusion. Who? What friend? Dumbbell hadn't come back already, had he?

"Look, down there!" the red mare pointed towards the center of the stadium and Hoops followed her gaze. Moments later the announcer's voice coursed throughout the cloudosseum.

"Looks like there's been a new development, ponies! The Drumfires have enlisted a substitute racer! Lucky for them, they've avoided disqualification!"

'What?' There was no way! Unless they had a reserve flier, and going by what the announcer had just said a minute ago, that hadn't been the case! Hoops squinted towards the central platform. It didn't take him long to recognize the form of his friend decked out in the Drumfire uniform. He choked on his pretzel.

"What?!"

[hr]

It was safe to say that the Drumfires held strong to their lead in the Sky Chariot racing tournaments for another season all thanks to their zealous understudy. When the game was over, Hoops found Dumbbell and the rest of the team outside of the arena holding up the trophy victoriously in the center of a crowd of adoring fans. The gathering was so thick that despite his natural height, all Hoops could see was the trophy, gold and glinting in the afternoon sunlight. He had to fly up and hover over them all just to get a word in.

"Dude I can't believe you actually did that! It was amazing!" Hoops exclaimed. Though he was initially ignored.

It wasn't on the same frequency of occurance as the wonderbolts, but decently well known sports ponies would often get approached for their autographs. Dumbbell already had his hooves full with the sudden onset of attention.

"I've never seen a pony navigate the obstacles like that? You didn't even scratch the chariot's paint!" said an enthused fan.

"Wow, you guys left the Talonstorms in the dust!"

"You showed up right in the nick of time! I thought the Drumfires would have to forfeit!"

"Yo, Dumbbell that was really you out there?"

"What's your name? Yeah you! Can I have your autograph, please?"

It took some time but after the fan ponies were satisfied they eventually dispersed, finally giving the chariot team room to breath.

"What's there to believe?" Dumbbell finally managed to answer Hoops. "I told you I wasn't going to lose that bet, and I didn't. I expect to be fifty bits richer tomorrow, got it?"

The purple and green Tango laughed and pranced around the group happily.

"Oh man, if we'd known you were sitting in the stands we would have called you over earlier!" She stopped her bouncy gallop and jumped into the air with a neat flip and hovered just above their heads. "Celebrate?"

The senior player, Highball nodded. "I think Tango's got the right idea. We should treat you." he said and turned to Dumbbell and Hoops.

"So hows about drinks at the Salt Flat? On me."

"Sounds good." said Hoops. "But only if I get to come along. Him playing was my idea."

Dumbbell scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Your idea?" he asked.

"Yep, I got you to go to the cloudosseum didn't I?"

Dumbbell didn't have a bad memory. He was pretty sure the idea to come here had been his own. Not only that but Hoops has specifically been rooting for the Talonstorms...whatever.

"Not a problem." insisted Highball. "A friend of the star player is a friend of ours." Dumbbell chuckled and started walking in the direction of the bar. "See that? you're lucky that you're [i]my[/i] friend."

Hoops shrugged. "What? It was my idea that we do something fun!"

The Salt Flat was warm, cheering, and crowded. Every corner full of ponies talking, drinking and eating or playing table games of spades, blackjack or crazy eights. They sat down in front of the closest bar, the trophy smacked down right on the table gaining plenty of attention from the patrons, as Highball ordered a round of Woodchuck Winter Cider for the five of them.

"In honor of the best out-of-the-blue miracle racer, ever!" they clanked their mugs together and downed their drinks heartily. Yet despite the allure of free drinks, Dumbbell remained furtively conservative with his cider consumption, cutting himself off at three mugs. The cider wasn't very strong and in truth he could have gone for some mead until he caught a glance at a clock on the wall. He felt his jaw slacken. If only time went this fast at work!

[i]'Rainbow Dash'[/i]

Dumbbell thought of her the moment he saw the time.

[i]'You said you were going to meet her today, didn't you.'[/i]

The bar talk was entertaining and the stories straight from the mouths of his favorite chariot race team were enticing. In the hour that followed, Dumbbell considered standing Rainbow Dash up. Rationalizing that he had the right to do so. And if she came looking for him it'd only serve to prove just how crazy she was.

[i]'But then she'll blab to everyone that you're some kind of egg headed book lair hermit.'[/i]

[i]'Right, but who'll believe her?'[/i] And besides, she did say she wouldn't do it. And if he took the time to really think, he'd realize Dash wasn't that kind of pony. But reputations are like a house of cards. It takes forever to build yet can be destroyed in seconds.

He needed to take his mind off the notion and let his eyes scan the bar. Almost immediately he recognized a familiar face and tapped his friend on the shoulder to gain his attention. "Yo, look back. You're not the only one skipping out on cloud gathering duty."

Hoops gave him a quizzical look and turned around. A goofy smile spread across his face the moment he recognized the pony in question.

"H-hey! Sugar! Sugar Rays! Over here!" Hoops hollered across the bar. The pony in question was a rather cute pink coated pony with a mane the color of golden peaches. She saw him, frowned, and turned back around in an attempt to ignore his calls.

"Aw c'mon, babe don't be like that!" he groaned.

"I thought her name was Honey." Dumbbell said.

"It is." Hoops said with a smirk. Dumbbell rolled his eyes, whatever that smile was meant to imply, he didn't want to know. Hoops wasn't one to give up on a girl easily, and for a moment he was certain the orange stallion was going to get up and walk over to her. But to his surprise, the correctly named Honey Rays stood on her own and came over to them, her expression not too friendly though Hoops didn't appear phased. The two chariot team players also ceased their conversation under these new developments.

"Is this here somepony you know, kid?" asked Tango.

Dumbbell shook his head. "Nah but I think she might know-"

"Hoops!" Honey Ray's voice dripped nothing but venom. "I told you to never call me that in public." she said in a whispery hiss.

Hoops didn't seem affected by her attitude.

"Oh, right, heh, sorry, Honey." His voice remained smooth and amiable, the way he said her name, very reminiscent of the way a dutiful husband would address his wife. "You know you really oughta be at work right now."

The mare's wings flared. "You've got some nerve." she sized him up quickly. "I could say the same thing about you! But that's not my problem, my problem is you caterwauling at me from across the room when you ditched me last Hearts and Hooves day!"

Dumbbell couldn't help but snicker. "Girl trouble, again?"

"That was months ago, I can make it up to ya!" Hoops pleaded.

"It wasn't just last Hearts and Hooves, it was also last Hearth's Warming, last Summer Sun Celebration, the Golden Leaf Festival, Nightmare Night, and all those dates at the Sizzling Carrot that you stood me up on!"

Dumbbell knew smiling wasn't what he was supposed to be doing, but he couldn't help it. The sight of his friend sitting on a bar stool, slack jawed in the wake of an oncoming train was just too funny to be believed. And what made it so was the fact that Hoops would always act like it was salvageable.

"Let's start over, then. Let me apologize and buy you a drink!" Hoops insisted.

Honey Ray's eyebrow twitched violently. "No! Let me give you a drink, loser!" A glass of cider that neither of them realized she was holding suddenly flew in front of her, it's contents thoroughly drenched Hoops' mane and face. He leaned back in surprise, coughing and rubbing his eyes as the mare stomped past. "Don't ever talk to me again!"

As soon as Honey Rays left, it ceased to be funny. Dumbbell turned back to the orange stallion who was still trying to blow the cider out his nose.

"That didn't go well, you okay, bud?" Dumbbell asked. After Hoops had taken several napkins out of a silver container to wipe his face, much to the annoyance of the bartender, he was able to speak clearly.

"Went about as well as I could have hoped actually." He said, looking a lot more visibly defeated.

The bar activity quelled and a towel and mop later things returned to normal. The bar staff were merciful given that it was just one spilled drink. Tango struck up conversation again as if the event had never happened.

"-and so Dust Devil is just sitting there across from me, the old hoser, just sitting across the desk staring at me with the jar between us. And I'm not even sure what's in it! So I ask him what it is and he's like 'You can't tell from the stink?' And I ask him...well what am I supposed to do to get in? And he leans forward with his breath smelling worse than a cave full of bat guano, and he says, 'If you wanna get in, you have to drink this whole jar of—' "

"I probably know where this is going. Shut up, Tango." Highball droned in warning.

"What? It's harmless!" Tango refuted. "It's called brimstone jelly. I had to drink it so the gas wouldn't damage my lungs!"

Dumbbell tilted his head in curiosity. "Gas and Brimstone? Just what the heck were you doing before you joined the Drumfires?" he asked.

Tango smiled. "My father is a miner in Sapphire Summit. Some of the lower caverns let out a nasty poison gas that'll drop you in ten seconds flat! The jelly protects your insides and he wouldn't let me explore until I took that foul smelling junk!"

"Brimstone jelly? Sounds..." Hoops winced at the thought. Tango grimaced in sympathy.

"Just be glad you'll never have to drink it. Trust me its worse than you're imagining now."

"I'm sure it can't be that bad." Dumbbell said, pointing a hoof at Hoops. "At least not as bad as any food this guy has tried to kill me with."

"Dude, not cool!" Hoops shouted a little louder than was necessary. Still feeling the consequences of his commitment issues and already starting to feel loose from the cider. He threw a halfhearted punch that Dumbbell simply had to lean backwards to dodge.

"Watch it, lightweight! If you actually had some tact you probably wouldn't be in this situation." Dumbbell swatted the wayward hoof and turned towards Highball and Tango. "See what I have to deal with? He's not even a good drinking buddy. This is like a cry for help."

"You cut me deep, bro." Hoops leaned forward and whimpered softly into his arm, but Dumbbell wasn't moved.

"Truth hurts, lies kill." he replied blandly. He noticed the clock again and felt hollow. Crap, where'd the time go?

Highball was a mind reader. Or maybe he had noticed all the furtive glances at the clock. "Hey, star player, you got somewhere to be?" he asked. He had also noticed the discrepancy between the number of refills everyone else had in comparison to the pony they were celebrating. "Or I take it you're don't have much of a taste for cider."

There was about a quarter of cider at the bottom of his mug. He tipped it back with a satisfied gulp and wiped his lips.

"Nah, you're right, I've gotta meet someone." He got off the barstool and grinned at his gracious bar mate. "I have to pay you back for the cider."

"Don't even sweat it, kid!" Tango said. "You helped us win the chariot race."

"You can consider this beauty payment enough," Highball said, gazing pridefully at the illustrious trophy.

Dumbbell knew he couldn't stay there for too much longer if he wanted to make it to Rainbow Dash's house before sun down but part of him felt bad about leaving Hoops alone. "Hoops you probably need to cut yourself off from any more cider," he said before he left the bar, "or I'm gonna find you sleeping in a tree again."

"I sleep where I want!" Hoops insisted. "But anyway, have a fun date with your girlfriend!"

"Shut up, Hoops!" Dumbbell couldn't stop himself from yelling that out loud. Loud enough that several patrons standing nearby stopped what they were doing to eye him quizzically. He had to smoulder the urge to turn back around, knowing Highball and Tango were well within hearing distance and he could already hear his friend laughing at him from across the room like a half drunk clown.

[i]'I shouldn't have let him come along. He doesn't actually know about this...does he?'[/i]

Dumbbell tried to recover from his outburst with a cough, trying his best not to appear inconspicuous.

"Yeah sure, see you later."

[hr]

"Pinkie Pie! What's up?"

Rainbow Dash had spent a large part of her day investigating every store in Ponyville. She had gifts for everyone except for her pink friend coincidentally. She was hard to surprise and just so...open! But her random nature seemed to demand that the gift be complimentary. Maybe less random? If there was one thing she already had plenty of it was partying equipment. That would have been a really boring gift anyway. When she noticed the familiar bouncing pink form coming from down the lane she became worried. But judging by her speed, Rainbow Dash was pretty sure she hadn't missed anything urgent and there didn't seem to be anything wrong—no monster rampage or impending peril. And hopefully Pinkie hadn't caught on to the fact that this close to Hearth Warming, Rainbow Dash was still stumped on what to give her. A paranoid thought yes, but she was sure her friend just had ways of knowing.

"Hi, Rainbow Dash! I'm so glad I caught up with you!" As usual, after Pinkie Pie reached her destination, the normal inclination to stop moving didn't seem to register for her, preferring to bounce around Dash in a tight circle as she spoke.

"I came out here to invite you to the first Preliminary Snow Fall Hearth's Warming Coat Fashion Party!"

"Pre snow Hearth's Warming party?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah, and it doubles as a coat fashion party though I'm not exactly sure on the details on that half," Pinkie Pie admitted.

"Huh, so... Rarity's idea?"

"Yep!" Pinkie Pie said. "You remember around this time last year when Rarity went bonkers because she caught Twilight walking around in that plaid overcoat, that she said looked like it had been made out of sewn together dish towels?"

"Um, yeah. I think so?" Dash replied. In all honesty she didn't remember that, but it sounded like something Rarity might do.

"Well Rarity has taken it upon herself to, as she called it, Raritize our winter wardrobe! So she'd need us all to come to the boutique later today, and it was my brilliant idea to make a party out of it!"

"A party, huh?" Dash gave the idea some thought. "That sounds like it could be fun."

"Huh? Whaddaya mean 'could be' fun!" Pinkie Pie actually stopped bouncing, her expression was one of faux indignation. "Pinkie Pie parties are the best parties!"

"I know," said Rainbow Dash, she could hardly resist the urge to roll her eyes. The pink pony pressed her forehead against Dash's own, imploring with big blue eyes. "So you're gonna come, right?"

"Well..." The pegasus glanced around, trying to come up with the right words. "Sorry, Pinkie Pie, but I've... got plans today."

Pinkie Pie's ears drooped. "Aw, are you sure?" she asked, actually looking sullen before perking back up slightly. "We're roasting sweet potatoes!"

Roasted sweet potatoes and homemade cinnamon eggnog. That thought alone was amazing.

"You dare to tempt me, Pinkie. Oooh, you dare." Dash gritted her teeth. "Buuut I can't. I'm supposed to meet someone today."

"Aaalright, I understand, Dashie." Pinkie Pie's ears drooped but she gave in quite easily this time. Rainbow Dash remembered when the possibility of friends missing a get together used to send her into a fit.

"But you know, Rarity is going to get her hooves on you eventually. She isn't going to let you get away without being "Raritized" before Hearth's Warming Day gets here!"

Hearth's Warming was but days away. Five in fact. "I'll deal with that day when it gets here," said Rainbow Dash. She started hovering a few feet off the ground. "But I've gotta go. I'll see you later!"

Pinkie Pie waved and bounced away. "Okie dokie, Rainbow Dash! Have fun on your date!"

For some reason she couldn't really explain, Dash temporarily lost the ability to flap her wings, and wound up back on the path face first. She quickly stood up shaking her self. "It's not a date, Pinkie Pie!" she shouted crossly at her retreating friend, who hadn't turned around to see her embarrassing fall.

[i]At least...[/i]

"Nice moves, Tumble Dash."

"Gah!" Rainbow Dash jumped back and flipped around at the same time. There stood Dumbbell in the middle of the path, his eyebrows quirked up and an annoyingly smug smile danced across on his lips.

"Looks like I glanced a rare sight of the great Rainbow Dash forgetting how to fly." His smile widened as her cross look deepened.

"I just tripped. It's nothing." Dash insisted.

"If you say so, Rainbow." Dumbbell sidestepped the pegasus mare, moving in the direction of her cloud home. "So anyway, I flew all the way over here before you decided to come find me."

He took a few steps off of the path when the blue mare pushed past him in a huff.

"What?" Dumbbell asked as he started walking behind her. "Am I late or somethin'?"

"Nah, you're fine. And a little early, actually." The prospect of reading more Daring Do was quickly pushing away her initial embarrassment.

"C'mon lets get started!"

They both flew up to Rainbow's cloud home, Dash opened her front door and the both of them made it half way inside when a sudden shrill voice alerted them to a presence far below.

"Rainbow Dash, wait a sec!"

Both pegasi snapped their heads around to see Pinkie Pie galloping back down the path.

"Hey, who is tha-ack!" Dumbbell's question was cut short when Rainbow Dash's hind leg knocked him back into her entry way and hastily closed the door in his face.

"Pinkie Pie? What is it?" Rainbow Dash watched Pinkie Pie stop just below her cloud. She didn't know how far Pinkie had gone or if she had seen Dumbbell but the pink pony didn't look the least bit tired.

"I almost forgot to ask. Do you want me to save you some of those sweet potatoes? I really wish you could come, but if you swing by

Sugarcube Corner tomorrow I can hook you up with something de-licious!"

"Sure Pinkie Pie, sounds good! See ya then!"

"Sweet! I'll see you tomorrow then. Buh-bye!" And with that Pinkie Pie bounced away again.

"Whew." Rainbow Dash entered her house just in time to see Dumbbell picking himself off her floor.

"Was that necessary?" He bellowed in marked irritation. He gently rubbed the area on his side where Dash's hoof had struck him.

"I didn't want Pinkie Pie to see you!" Rainbow Dash closed the door behind her and walked up to the brown stallion. "With the way you are, I figured you didn't want anypony knowing about you being here."

"No, I don't." said Dumbbell. "But next time toss me a warning or somethin'? I can take that better than gettin' kicked in the ribs if you don't mind." They both made it to the kitchen without further incident and took their places at the breakfast table.

"So where'd we leave off? Chapter nine, right?" Dumbbell said while pulling the Daring Do adventure book from his saddlebag and pushing it over to Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash took the book and flipped to the correct page. "Yeah, right where Daring Do was following the mysterious shadow deeper into the castle in search of the secret inner sanctum. But she still needs the Key of Memory to unlock door that leads into the catacombs."

Dumbbell nodded. "Right, well get reading!" He leaned back in his chair and brought his hind legs up to rest on the table. "And remember the feeling."

"I'll make you feel something alright if you don't get your hooves off my breakfast table!"

The stallion rocked backwards in the seat and brought his feet back down with a sigh. "Didn't take you to be a stickler."

"My home, my table," She mirrored his previous movement and brought her feet up to rest on the table with the back of her chair resting against the counter behind her. "My hooves."

"Fine, whatever. Just start reading already!" Said Dumbbell impatiently.

"Why don't you read? I read last time and you can't blame some fake head injury."

"If I had a choice in the matter I definitely would be reading it. But I also wouldn't be here." Dumbbell said with an amused smirk. "I brought the book so you read."

Rainbow Dash leered at him for a couple of seconds but quickly acquiesced. Not that she was going to admit it. But she liked having the job of narrator.

The reading went well for the most part. Due to the Crypt of the Dark King having a lot of referenced material from previous Daring Do adventures, Rainbow Dash's entire collection ended up stacked on the table just in case either pony wanted to remember some occurrence from a previous adventure.

Dumbbell had another book in front of him while Rainbow Dash read. She was just getting to the part where the daring adventure pony had to choose between two dark passages, one leading to the hidden inner sanctum, the other into a deadly labyrinth of eternal confusion and solitude. Daring wisely decided to use the sacred dagger of luminescence along with the benefactor's lantern to determine the correct path. Dash smiled as she read, the heroine always had a way of figuring out the right way to-.

"What? I'm calling road apples on that." Dumbbell interrupted by stamping his hoof right in the middle of the page. "There's no way that just happened!"

"What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash pulled her eyes away from the page, half startled by the interruption. She saw Dumbbell's face pressed into the pages of a separate book, one of Daring Do's older adventures, Daring Do Enters the Jungle of Dread.

"Were you even listening to me?" asked Rainbow Dash. But Dumbbell didn't seem to hear her.

"That's impossible, there's no way a single pony could drag an idol that size up to the pedestal before an entire pack of undead arrow-slinging Gully-Wugs could turn her into a pincushion!"

"Thats why she created that big explosion at the other end of the palace." Dash argued..

"But Ahuizotl figured she'd try for somethin' like that. That's why he ordered the tribe leader to hide his guys in the sacrificial catacombs and wait for Daring to go in. It was an ambush, so how did they miss her?"

"Because she's Daring Do, duh," Rainbow Dash said, as if this was the only possible explanation.

"Yeah, and last I checked she's just one pony" Dumbbell said with a frown. "All of those tribal guys must have had the collective aim of a cross-eyed parasprite."

"Well maybe they do." Dash admitted with a small laugh. "They are a bunch of old moldy brained

zombies after all."

"Depends on the kind of zombie you're talkin' about." Dumbbell stated. " I don't think these were the 'claw my way out of the grave' kind."

"What does it matter the kind?"

"They were the 'possessed slave to evil magic kind'. Slow witted maybe but not rotting. No way Daring Do got the idol all the way up to that pedestal and escaped without even a single scratch."

"It's the only way she could have gotten the dagger! And how do you know?" asked Rainbow Dash with visible skepticism.

Dumbbell shrugged. "Because the thing is freaking gigantic, okay?" he spread his hooves wide, trying to encapsulate the size. "Maybe half the size of a manticore but twice as heavy."

Dumbbell seemed to be trying awful hard to sound as if he were an expert on the matter. Typical blowhard talk.

"You know you really like to blow your own horn about things you obviously don't know anything about don't you!" Rainbow Dash "I mean come on! As if you've actually been to these old frog ruins!"

"They're not frogs, they're toads. And I have." he corrected her. His answer was so direct Rainbow Dash almost didn't catch it..

"W-what?" she balked.

It was Dumbbell's turn to lean back and look smug. "Yup. It's a lot easier to picture what the authors talking about when you've seen it in person."

"You know there's no way in all seven levels of Tartarus that I believe you." Her tone was even though it seemed she was trying to keep it that way.

"Doesn't matter to me if you believe me or not." Said Dumbbell, turning his attention back to the book. "But anyway-"

"Prove it!" Rainbow Dash suddenly stood and smashed her hooves against the table top. "You can't just start talking crap about Daring Do, then lie about actually being there and expect me to let it go!"

"Geez, I'm sorry I mocked your make-believe girlfriend." Dumbbell said without flinching. "She ain't real so what's the problem?"

Dash deflated a little and sat back down in the chair with her hooves pressed against her chest,

"Um..." She looked down at the floor, unable to look him in the eye. She hoped desperately that she wasn't blushing. The heavy silence between them began to swell.

"Well she...no of course not! That's ridiculous." Rainbow Dash said. "But that's not the point here. You're the one going on about finding temples in the desert."

"South of the Palimino Desert, remember? And actually it sits in a jungle not a desert. It's weird as hay down there so they both pretty much sit right on top of each other. There's like this big stretch of jungle that separates the Equestrian border from the badlands. The temple's sitting right out on the edge. Easy to catch if you know what to look for."

"I don't believe you." Dash scowled. "The Palimino Desert is over six hundred miles away from Ponyville! You're telling me you just up and left to find this place one day?"

"Yeah. Why not? I'm surprised you haven't done it."

Rainbow Dash felt her brows knit on reflex. That came very close to sounding like a challenge.

"Yeah? Well it's not like I have a reason to. It's not like this place is real."

"Yeah it is. In fact, I can prove it to you." Dumbbell's confidence was too genuine for Rainbow Dash to think he was yanking her tail. Though she didn't put it past him to be pulling some sort of trick. What kind of trick she had no idea. A few beats of silence reigned as Rainbow Dash considered the possibilities. Could he actually be telling the truth? If he was, it wouldn't hurt to find out.

"Alright. Fine. I'm going to hold you to that." She said, leaning over the table with an audacious smile.


	7. Thorns and Temples

Chapter7

Dumbbell left Rainbow Dash's home and returned to Cloudsdale late that night. To his relief, Hoops wasn't waiting for him creepily in the dark like the night before and his bedroom door was closed. He pressed his ear to his roommate's door and heard the distinct rumble of snoring. Good, at least he hadn't passed out in a tree.

He crossed the living room and went up the small enclosed stairway that led up to his room which was in truth just a large storage space converted into a place to sleep. It wasn't too restrictive but it was definitely small for a pegasus, but very much affordable. The slowly building clutter did little to help the cramped appearance and Dumbbell told himself that he really needed to sweep the place out tomorrow. His bed was pushed against the south wall, and an old brown couch on the east, it was a lot lumpier and less attractive than the one downstairs.

The walls were covered in posters depicting various pony athletes, mostly pegasi and sporting events from the last Equestria Games. Though most of them were old since the last time the games had been held in Cloudsdale felt like a forever ago. He also had a poster of the Wonderbolts. Well, one Wonderbolt at least. He didn't like to admit it but he was envious of their daredevil flying abilities and talent to put on a good show in the air. The poster was a striking full body display of Fleetfoot, his favorite.

There was also a small desk stacked with various books, papers, more books and a basketball. That wasn't his, he tossed the orange ball back down the stairs. How many times did he have to tell Hoops to keep his stuff on his side of the apartment? Sure his small room was cluttered due to a lack of sufficient storage space but at least it was all [i]his[/i] junk. He didn't need his friend to add to the pile, but that wasn't his current concern.

The Daring Do fanatic didn't believe him. It was time to change her tune.

He tossed his bag down on the couch and with one push moved his bed away from the wall. It hid a piece of the floor that was removable, roughly half the length of the bed, the same width , and about three feet deep. Dumbbell gingerly removed the slats of wood and yanked away the plain white sheet that covered what was inside.

There lay several glass cases with wooden frames filled with different objects collected from the various ruins he had visited over the years. Each one was a little piece of what he liked to call "Daring Do's map of the world". A glass case for every book, pottery fragments, spear tips, broken jewelry, ancient coins, souvenirs from whatever environment the adventure hero had supposedly trampled through in her many quests to vanquish foes and rescue innocents from evil. Of course he didn't believe Daring Do was real, she was just the product of A.K. Yearlings active imagination. A well to do older pony who had the time and the means to visit remote locations steeped in stories and bones of the past and project her avatar on to them. Daring Do hadn't actually caused the Great Carrion Crawler's Cathedral in the heart of the badlands to collapse, or find the elusive Skullmere Lake and unveil the ancient library hidden beneath its depths, but no pony would be interested in buying "The Fanciful Travels of A.K. Yearling. So a little exaggeration went a long way.

"Let's see, yeah..here it is." The stallion pulled one the cases out from the compartment, examining it thoughtfully. It didn't seem to hold anything of immediate value, just a small slab of stone. But then again how many ponies would know that it was a piece of a ruined idol that lay inside the half destroyed Crimsoncroak Temple? A page from [i]'The Jungle of Dread'[/i] had a detailed illustration of the intact idol before Daring Do smashed it to bits, the details and imprinted designs were easy enough to recognize, even if the meanings remained wholly obscure to him.

He had quite a flight ahead of him, it was time to get some shut eye.

[b][/b]"I've been waiting for hours! It's about time you showed up." said Rainbow Dash when Dumbbell landed next to her on her some time before dawn. Dumbbell rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Didn't you go to sleep?" he asked.

Yeah! Well sort of. I spent most of the night thinking about this." she answered while adjusting the saddle bags to sit more comfortably against her side. "You had better not be making this all up." Rainbow Dash warned.

Dumbbell frowned. "You really think I would go through all this trouble for a lie?"

Dash eyed him warily which only served to agitate him further.

"Let's just go before I change my mind." Dumbbell growled and launched off the roof, heading south.

"Alright, alright, geeze!" Rainbow huffed, quickly catching up with him as they began their impromptu and frankly impulsive journey to the edge of Equestria.

It wasn't the true "edge", technically Equestria included the badlands in any topographical map to be seen. It's just that most Equestrians were cautious about living anywhere past the Macintosh Hills.

The Dragon-Thorn Jungle lay several miles beyond them and acted as a natural boundary between what was inhabitable and what wasn't. And the badlands certainly weren't considered pony friendly or even inhabitable by most means. It wasn't a sustainable landscape, nothing grew there yet anything could die there with only the most long suffering of creatures such as dragons being able to survive in its wastes for a prolonged amount of time.

The two pegasi had already managed to travel a good distance before the sun reached its zenith but there was still several hours between them and their destination and Rainbow Dash began to wonder just how long she could handle the silence between them. Not out of any sense of obligation but out of boredom. She flew in close to Dumbbell so that her voice could be heard better while flying.

"So, uh, I haven't seen you in a while, how's it going?" Before Dash even finished the question she knew it sounded like a forced attempt to start a conversation. She saw Dumbbell glance at her from the corner of his eye, his expression made it clear that he hadn't expected this kind of question to come his way.

"Fine. Everything's goin great." he said while keeping his eyes forward. He started to drift away from her almost unconsciously.

[i]'Well that didn't work.'[/i] Dash thought sourly. Maybe a different, if not more direct angle would work. They were flying out to what was practically the edge of Equestria to visit a lonely temple that sat in a deep dark jungle.

"So what got you into reading Daring Do?" she tried a second time. And this time she knew the brown stallion's response could lead somewhere. He tilted his head back with a smile.

"Because she works alone" he said bluntly. This response confused Rainbow Dash. That wasn't the answer she had expected. "Not because she's so cool? An awesome adventurer who's like, practically a superhero in her own right! Saving the world from countless unfathomable evils?"

"Well yeah that stuff too!" Dumbbell said. "Even Though, I swear she's got a partner she isn't telling us about. The amount of crap she manages to get herself out of insane."

"She's just that great." Rainbow Dash said. "But, why is Daring Do working alone the thing you like most?"

"Think about it. Have you ever wondered what the rest of the world is like? Outside of Equestria?"

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment. "I bet it's exciting!" she said with a smile. "I mean I haven't left Equestria too many times, but the one time I did it was awesome!."

"The one time?"

"Yup! It may not be a well known fact in your particular social circles, but I happen to be an expert dragon wrangler!"

"What?" Dumbbell's mouth spread into a dubious sneer.

"Done it twice." The blue pegasus performed two tight loops in the air for emphasis. "You probably remember back when that big dragon was covering the sky with smoke"

Dumbbell nodded. "Yeah I remember. It was a real pain in the flank clearing the sky of all that mess." And since that day everyone had dubbed the dragon's temporary nest Smokey Mountain.

"Well I was the one who got it to leave." she said smoothly. "Yeah it took a little convincing but he eventually caved. It was either leave, or leave with more than just a few scales missing!"

"Uh huh."

Rainbow Dash continued unabated. "The second time was when a friend of mine got himself mixed up with some bad characters. Which happened to be dragons, smaller ones but still dangerous all the same. He was in way over his head, but I got him out of it.."

Dumbbell rolled his eyes. And ponies called him a braggart? At least he told the truth!

"Yeah, you're right. It's a miracle that your name hasn't been buzzing all over Cloudsdale."

They continued talking as they flew south through they stuck with more obvious polite topics not really breaching any intimate territory. The land below them was starting to change as rolling green hills and forests faded into the dustier dryer terrain called the San Palomino Desert. With the Oxtail Lake directly below them and the visage of Broken Saddle Plateau steadily growing in the distance. It was a part of Equestria Rainbow Dash didn't see too much of, save for the odd trip out to Appleloosa, and those didn't happen very often. They had passed over Appleloosa several hours ago, the entire landscape ahead of them looked arid and barren under the sun but further in the distance she noticed a thin strip of mountainous range running along the horizon.

"How much further is it?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Dumbbell nodded. "We're close! Just on the other side of that ridge. We'll be there in no time if we put on some speed, besides we've got a good wind behind us."

The blue pegasus caught on quick. "Race?"

Dumbbell gave his wings a long powerful flap as they both began to pick up speed. "You bet!"

It wasn't long before Rainbow Dash zoomed over the highest point of the elevated crest, the view was amazing. A near unbroken sea of green pushed out from the ridge for what looked like miles, maybe the entire length of the mountain range itself.. The jungle pushed down into a large dip in the earth for at least half that distance so that the entire jungle sat in a massive bowl. From her height, Rainbow Dash couldn't see the forest floor due to the density of the trees but several in particular sprung wildly upwards with various distance between each other. The tallest of which were covered in thorn laden vines, the thick trunks twisted ferociously about themselves capping off with massive misshapen wooden lumps giving the eerie impression of two dragons trying to wrangle each other in a battle for dominance.

Confronted with the sight, the blue pegasus slowed her momentum to take in the sight in full, giving Dumbbell enough time to catch up and pass her by.

"The race ain't over until we touch down!" he shouted while dashing up to the twisted boughs.

"Hey, not fair!" Rainbow Dash picked up speed again ready to pass up the stallion until she saw him fly straight into the craggy maw of one of the wooden dragons. Much to her surprise the thing was hollow and Dumbbell unhesitantly flew straight inside of it.

"W-wait a minute!" Dash shouted as she flew towards the opening. It was massive and dark, she'd never come close to being swallowed whole by a beast as big as a dragon despite her devil may care attitude, except for the time she kicked a dragon in the snout, and that definitely wasn't a pleasant experience..

"It's dark..." she said to herself feeling her skin tingle. It took maybe three seconds for this emotion to be pushed backwards as she threw herself headlong into the opening. She half expected to hit the wooden inside but the trunk's interior was in fact so large that she had no trouble making her way down. Her wings didn't even touch the sides, and there was just enough ambient light from the outside to give her a good view of where to turn. And down she went, sailing along a spiral staircase with no steps to walk on, turning round and sometimes looping upside down, down, and down some more. Then the light suddenly cut out and she knew she had made it under the canopy. It was a sensation close to being underground, with no light she quickly began to lose bearings and any sense of orientation. She had not realized her loss in altitude until her hoof clipped roughly against the wood.

"Woah!" She couldn't stop herself despite how much she wanted to. The momentum threw her down onto the slimey mossy interior of the trunk but instead of grinding to a halt she kept going forward. The tunnel had become a slide! Before she could get back on her hooves, Dash was flying out of the trunk like a sled off a snow bank, out and up she went screaming until she collided into a tangle of low hanging vines which were strong enough to stop her solidly. In her efforts to pull away from them she got even more stuck, the vine falling around her like spider silk, it held her tight and left her to sway upside down.

Dizzy and a little disoriented, Rainbow Dash heard Dumbbell's laughter before she saw him standing under her, eyes shut tight and half doubled over.

"Yeah go ahead and yuk it up while you can, just wait til I get out of this!" she growled. Her struggles proved fruitless and she was far too prideful to ask for help. But Dumbbell wasn't going to stop any time soon.

"I had no idea you'd screw that up so bad!" He said between choking laughter. "I should have brought a camera!"

"You had no idea?" Dash repeated, getting angrier by the second. "You lead me down that stupid tree on purpose!" she pulled herself up bit down on the stubborn vine trying to sever it with her grinding teeth. Much to her surprise the bunch of vine shuddered and fell away, releasing her from its grasp. She flapped her wings and tried to dive bomb the brown stallion however he jumped away in time.

"I thought you'd figure it out." replied Dumbbell still chuckling in amusement. "You don't fly down it you slide down it. That way you don't hit your head on the way."

Rainbow Dash stood up and rubbed roughly behind her ear. "Or you could have not been a complete jerk and just told me ahead of time!" She stopped , thankful there wasn't a bump or anything to worry about.

"I evened the playing field a little is all. And what do ya know? I won." said Dumbbell. "I didn't actually tell you to follow me did I?"

Rainbow Dash bit on her tongue. She had indeed lost and technically it was her own fault for slowing down. But at the same time, she wasn't familiar with this jungle and had assumed flying into the tree was the only way to get under the canopy safely. She sighed, that was what she got for over thinking. Dumbbell fished her saddle bags out of some bushes they had fallen into when she shot out of the hollow thorn tree, and tossed it her way.

"Here, you dropped this." he said. Rainbow caught it without trouble.

"So where do we go from here?" she asked.

"Not far. These massive trees are like landmarks. If you ever get lost all you need to do is look up."

Rainbow Dash did so, the base of the tree itself was so massive that it filled her view. The roots themselves looked like a dragon's claws gouging into the soil and sure enough, as long as she had a view of the sky she could see the enormous coiled trees looming over her at all times. Spooky.

"I'll keep that in mind so lets get going." Dash insisted as she made sure her saddle bag was secure and followed Dumbbell deeper into the Dragon-Thorn jungle.

The walk was quiet and uneventful. The trees were so tall that distance between the tops of the trees and the jungle floor left enough room for temporary flight. The short journey took them away from the chain of mountains and down into the center of the bowled valley. Dumbbell stopped and landed just short of a long trickling stream, he leaned forward, trying to see something on the other side, Rainbow Dash landed next to him and followed his gaze, she saw nothing but trees. Yet despite that, Rainbow Dash picked up on the sense that she needed to be quiet.

Dumbbell pawed at the earth with his hoof as he squinted his eyes, then he backed away from the stream and turned around, beckoning Rainbow Dash to follow. She spoke when they were several yards away from the water.

"Hey whats up? Why'd we turn around?" she whispered.

"Didn't like the way something felt over there, so we're goin around it. Just a little detour." Dumbbell said.

Rainbow Dash hadn't sensed anything strange and Dumbbell wasn't exactly sure what it is he saw, but this place was new so she'd take his word for it. They gave that area a wide berth and doubled back, crossing the bubbling stream at a further point. From there it was fast going and only a few minutes later, Dumbbell and Rainbow Dash entered a clearing full of nothing but creeping plants extruding from one location at its center. They snaked out to crowd the valley's floor and the empty air, wrapping around the surrounding trees, anchoring firmly in place with sharp thorns. Dumbbell lept up and hovered over the slithering plants.

"Welp here we are!" he announced. But Rainbow Dash looked very much bewildered.

"Here...we are?" she asked. "Nothings here." The novel 'Daring Do and the Jungle of Dread' described the Crimsoncroak temple as sitting in a clearing, yet due to the way Daring had entered the temple, which was bound, and unconscious, details on the exact location were vague.

Dumbbell landed carefully on one of the thick tendriled vines, which were big enough that he could stand on an individual one with no overlap, and gingerly pushed a neighboring one aside. Rainbow Dash fluttered over and landed next to him. From under the moved vine, at first she saw nothing until her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and a small amount of light filtered inside.

What she could see at the bottom of the massive pit was enormous, red, and didn't look happy to see them.


	8. Curiosity can Kill

Chapter 8

It didn't take long for the two pegasi to move the overgrown plants that covered the pit. The more they removed the more sunlight poured in, giving the dark depression several beams of much needed sunlight. Rainbow Dash peered further in again with only the slightest air of caution. The first time the angry red face had caught her eye, she had nearly leapt twelve feet back in fright, but she managed to stop herself before doing so. Looking back again, Rainbow Dash could clearly make out the craggy outlines of the face petrified permanently in a war like snarl. The red painted lips curled down in an arc, posing as the entrance to the temple. The chiseled eyes were also painted, appearing as little more than angry pinpricks staring fiercely down at the two pegasi that landed on the hard steps in front of it.

"Something tells me whatever used to live here didn't like having guests." said Rainbow Dash, stepping cautiously towards the angry face of the temple. It was actually hard to look directly at it, so she lowered her gaze to the open archway.

"Yeah, seeing this monstrosity was usually enough to turn away unwanted visitors." Dumbbell lacked Dash's hesitation and walked into the tunnel, Rainbow Dash quickly followed, casting a last fervent glance at the faint light that filtered in through the through the hole they had cleared above.

She was already losing sight of Dumbbell who cantered ahead without fear. She swallowed and steeled herself. This was no big deal, Daring Do did this kind of thing all the time.

[i]'And if she can do it, then so can I.' [/i]The two pegasi traveled down the tunnel side by side, the air felt thick and cool as a perpetual breeze whistled gently past, no other sound greeted them besides the sound of their hoof steps.

"I can barely see five feet in front of my nose." Rainbow Dash complained. "How do you know where we're going?"

Dumbbell nodded but didn't turn to look at her. "Well for now this is the only way to go, but don't worry, we'll get light."

"I packed a lantern," said Dash. "just let me get it out so we can se- WOAH!" Rainbow Dash felt heat, and saw the burst of light from the side of the tunnel. Several bursts as one by one the formerly unlit torches flared along the tunnel wall until the entire area was clearly lit.

"What just happened?" she asked.

Dumbbell chuckled. "Try not to freak, they just… do that." The tunnel continued for several more yards until it rose up into a open space. The structure resembled an atrium though it lacked a ceiling. In fact several chunks of it had collapsed into piles of rubble that obscured the way forward. The sky could be seen above through the gaps, providing a fair amount of light despite the overhanging trees.

"This is just the entryway, lets keep going." Dumbbell said. Another tunnel of bewitched torches took them to a new enclosed space, but this one lacked the open ceiling. Balconies and extended platforms sprang from the walls with narrow stair ways leading up to each.

"Where do those lead?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Dumbbell tilted his head upward after jumping over a substantial pile of rubble. "Those lead into different parts of the temple, but I wouldn't bother going through any of 'em if I were you, you'll get lost."

The brown pony instead lead Rainbow Dash down. The floor quickly bottomed out and became a series of wide trenches, wider than the entrance tunnel. Their surfaces were dry but covered in moss and a dead plant like material resembling sea weed.

"In the book weren't these filled with water?" Rainbow Dash scraped at the slimey stuff in the trench and sniffed it, immediately regretting the action.

"The toads swam through these for the most part, but they lost their water amulet, if you believe what the book says." Dumbbell said.

"Yeah, Daring stole it from their leader and smashed it." Dash mused as she walked the narrow aisle between two of the trenches. They all swayed away from a central canal like branching channels of a river, leading to different places altogether.

"There's probably a dried up river somewhere that used to run into this place." Dumbbell muttered. He jumped into the central trench and trotted down to the point where it turned into an underpass.

"Ugh, another gloomy tunnel." Rainbow Dash slid into the trench indolently, not wanting to appear hesitant.

"Yep, if we want to get to the Moon chamber then this is the fastest way," Dumbbell paused. " And probably the most trap free way."

"Hah, probably?"

"Well... I fell into a pit of ravenous piranha snakes once. Lucky for me though, they hadn't been fed in a long time. A [i]long[/i] long time."

Rainbow's ears perked at that notion. He was talking about the very chamber where Daring Do had her climactic battle and escape from Crimsoncroak Temple and its savage inhabitants, who had been under the sinister influence of Ahuizotl. As they went, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but admire Dumbbell's confidence navigating the passage ways, including the ones not conveniently lit by torch light.

"So how much further?"

"Actually, we're already here." Dumbbell announced as he passed back into light.

For the past several minutes, they had been walking down a long, gradual slope. Now, as the path started to level out the tunnel ended. The ground just ahead fell away completely into what looked like a massive empty pool or basin. They stood high in a chamber so big it could easily house three of Twilight's libraries and still have room to spare. Rainbow Dash was taken aback by the ambience, the interior emanated a faint, mysterious aura that washed her in a sensation of calm.

"Moon rocks..." Her attention lingered on the luminous carvings and etchings that traced the walls, accented by a multitude of traveling vines forcing their way through every crack and crevice. She could only guess that the dimly glowing stone had something to do with the accelerated growth, the bulkier coils already forcing part of the neglected structure to crumble and lash inward like the massive irritated tendrils of some beast. It were as if the forest itself was determined to snare the entire thing and drag it underground. But what took both of them by surprise was something else entirely.

"What in the world is that?" Rainbow Dash asked, she flew the length of the chamber to the highest balcony where a large, jaggedly cut statue sat on a lonely pedestal. Squat and amphibious, the most obvious of its details were rendered with frightening detail, mirroring the very discontent stone face they were greeted to before entering the temple.

"No way." Rainbow Dash circled the object fervently. "This isn't what I think it is, is it?"

At first Dumbbell was silent, gazing across the chamber in the low light.

"I don't believe it!" He met Rainbow Dash at the balcony and leered at the rotund statue so hard his nose was scraping against the floor.

"It's the Idol of Renewal." Dash said, her eyes practically glittering. "I'd recognize this anywhere!" She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the Daring Do novel, flipping to the appropriate page she already had bookmarked. "Yep! Right here!" A vivid illustration of the idol sat at the top of the page, undeniable proof. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm seeing it up close!"

"But that's impossible." said Dumbbell he brought up a hoof to touch it just stopping short. "It was destroyed. It should be busted all over the floor in dozens a pieces!"

"You-you make a good point." Rainbow Dash stopped gushing for a moment to consider what this meant. If the idol had been destroyed then how was it sitting in front of them perfectly intact?

"Theres a piece missing.." she said to herself, giving the idol another round of close consideration, which took time given that it was at least ten feet tall. "Maybe it's a replacement." she offered.

"That don't make sense." Dumbbell complained. "It's definitely..." He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out the cloth covered idol fragment. Above him there was a clear spot on the giant toad statue, just above the left eye, where a piece had yet to be restored.

Rainbow Dash stood surprised, not even knowing that her traveling partner actually had a piece of the idol , and by the fact that it fit perfectly like the last piece of a jigsaw.

"Woah." Rainbow Dash was beside him, gazing at the complete idol. "You had a piece of it with you this whole time?"

"I had to prove to you that I'd been here, right?"

Rainbow Dash couldn't stop the broad smile from spreading across her face. It was so evident that Dumbbell could only shift under her stare uncomfortably.

"You are such a nerd!"

Dumbbell went rigid like a startled deer, or for an even more apt comparison, Fluttershy when her shadow caught her off guard. Rainbow Dash's gratified chuckle permeated the chamber, echoing slightly off it's walls, and every time the sound bounced back their way, Dumbbell's ears turned just a shade redder. He pressed them back and grunted in offense.

"Yeah, well-", but before he could respond with some scathing remark, there came a sound from below, a faint sound rustling from the inside. It struck back against the laughter that had surrounded them, and pulled their attention to the darkness underneath them.

"What was that?" Rainbow Dash leaned over the edge trying to pinpoint the source, the sound of something shifting and crumbling and smacking against the cold ground somewhere in the distance amidst the crevices and dull beat of glowing rock.

"It's too dark to see whatever it is, hope it can't fly." Dumbbell said simply, gaining a quick derisive glance from the blue mare. "What, are you scared?"

"No." Dumbbell scoffed and met her at the edge of the platform, they jumped off at the same time, landing near a pile of stone where the strange sound was coming from. Heavy slabs had fallen on top of horizontal cleft in the wall, through the crack Rainbow Dash could tell there was a room on the other side.

"Do you know what this is?" asked Rainbow Dash as she stepped towards the block doorway, trying to peek through the empty spaces. The sounds had ceased and she took this as a signal to move forward, wings half spread, ready to sprint if anything decided to push its way out. While Dumbbell initially was just as eager to investigate the noise, he became reserved soon after they landed, hanging back from the rock pile.

"Don't stick your nose too close." He warned while circling around at a wide angle.

"I don't think anything is down here. And if there was we probably scared it off already." Rainbow Dash said. Though in her thoughts, Rainbow Dash was convinced that there had to be [i]something[/i]. Her curiosity couldn't be tampered now, what else lay in the ruins of this place? In the new found quiet she could hear the faint chirp of crickets and maybe wind from the upper levels, or was it footsteps?

As she approached the wall, the sound of her hooves scraping against the ground was interrupted by a soft thud. She put her forehoof down and heard it again, she stamped down and realized that the floor she was standing on was covering something hollow. "They're might be something under here!" As far as she knew she was standing on a trap door or a basement, silly as that sounded.

"Hey, come over here, I think there's something under the-"

Without warning, the ground buckled beneath her. Everything exploded in a shower of rocks and furious squawking. Something massive emerged, paying Rainbow Dash no heed as it beat the air with stretched wings. She felt her head connect with something broad, and ferociously sharp looking, the last thing she remembered was Dumbbell shouting at her just before she fell into the pit below.


	9. Blue Flame Summons the Dead

Chapter 9

"Hey, Rainbow! Earth to Crash! Wake up!"

It took a while for the response to come. Rainbow Dash's eyelids painfully unhinged little by little, her vision immediately filled by a blinding white light. She flinched, and tried to turn away but her body was assaulted by the sensation of many sharp and pointy objects jabbing into her side, tangling through and around her feathers and mane, scratching abrasively against her face. Everything she could see through the white blindness tumbled round and round while she remained still, and now someone two miles away was screaming into her ear.

[i]'A white light, a tunnel, voices? Oh great job, Dash you got yourself killed in some jungle by a few falling rocks! You totally suck!'[/i]

The voice came again, this time a few octaves lower in volume but still rough with aggression. "C'mon, Dash. Get it together." The sharp light dimmed as the pony standing over her put it to the side and Dumbbell's form slowly filtered into recognition.

"What the hay...happened?" Dash slurred. She braced herself against the dead wood and sticks, flinching as they clawed into her coat, definitely not a comfortable sensation to say the least. She got herself to stand half way before dizziness swept in again to finish the job.

"I told you not to get close." Is what she thought she heard Dumbbell say as he brought himself between her and the ground, the...floor?

"What are we standing on?" Dash asked. Looking down she saw nothing but weeds, and sticks tightly woven. It ran up along the sides as well, giving the impression of a basket. "Are we in something's nest?"

"Yep. You startled the heck out of the thing, a giant bird, and it flew away."

"Huh, I wasn't expecting that."

"I wasn't either," Dumbbell said as he helped Rainbow Dash pull herself out of the nest and down into a new area so dark that only the lantern light could provide any illumination. He found a wall and helped the blue pony lay next to it, with her head supported on her saddlebag.

"But I've gotta say, nice moves there, [i]dragon tamer[/i]."

Rainbow Dash felt anger split through her disruptive headache, but in her state the only thing she could do was leer. "I'm knocking [i]your[/i] head next! Besides, it wasn't even a dragon."

"I'd love to see you try." Dumbbell wasn't taken by her threat, just as well because it was empty.

"What was I thinking bringing somepony like you to a place like this? You're helpless!" he groaned.

Rainbow Dash took him by surprise when she leapt to her feet almost before he could finish speaking.

"Hey! I'm nopony's helpless filly, you got that!"

"Yeah, yeah...you're lucky that it wasn't trying to eat you." Dumbbell matched her scowl with his own.

"Oh, were you worried?" Dash teased dryly but flinched as a tight pain slithered up between her ears. Suddenly disoriented she sat down with a groan as her half lidded eyes fluttered closed, she could practically feel her heart pulsing behind them. With a sigh she tucked her legs under her body in an effort to seek comfort.

"That thing really got you didn't it." said Dumbbell. Rainbow Dash cracked open an eye to see the expression he wore. A hoof lifted tentatively over her head, gently parting the mane over her scalp. "Let me see, maybe it only glanced ya."

Dash flinched, partly from pain and because she never knew what to do with unfamiliar touch. She didn't give him a chance to examine her and pushed his hoof away.

"I'll be fine, just give me ten minutes." she said, burying her face into the cloth of her bag, the wall was nicely cool too and she began to feel drowsy.

"Way to be stubborn." Dumbbell complained, but he retracted his hoof anyway.

"Because its not a big deal."

Dumbbell laughed. "Yeah I forgot. You're seriously the only pony I've ever met who's used to gettin a bump on the head."

At that, Rainbow Dash found it a better idea to just turn her back to the stallion, letting her forehead rest on the smooth wall felt good anyway. She heard him rummaging through his bags behind her.

"Big deal or not, here." He placed something down. Rainbow Dash turned to see a square metal water canteen glinting invitingly in the lantern light. It wasn't until that moment she noticed the dryness of her throat, and that she had her own water. In the wake of current events it had slipped her mind. Still, she reached over for the canteen, eager to wet her dry throat.

"Thanks."

[hr]

Some time later Rainbow Dash felt her eyes open. She couldn't possibly guess how long she had been asleep but judging by the way she felt, it was probably longer than she had anticipated. She lifted her head, it felt clear and mostly pain free, only the slightest twinge remained. She sat up and examined the quiet darkness of her surroundings, despite its unfamiliarity it felt serine. Not long after she awoke, she saw the familiar bobbing of a lantern in the far side of the room, the light bent and swept along the tunnel until she saw Dumbbell trot into view.

"So you finally woke up!" He said after placing his light down. "You were out for a while.

"For how long?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"'Bout an hour." he said.

Dash frowned, a lot longer than she wanted, but it was for the best, she figured.

"Well I'm fine now." she said cheerily.

"Good, I mean, could you imagine dying here? That would suck so much." Dumbbell mused, shaking his head, and Dash smiled despite herself. She stood up and looked around the dark room once again, as best she could at least. "Do you have any idea where we are?"

Dumbbell grinned excitedly. "Oh, do I? I've got something cool to show you. Come on." He picked up his lantern and went back the way he'd come. Dash gathered up her things and quickly followed. The self lighting torches made their return, only now the flame was a light somber blue, producing a glow just strong enough for the pegasi to see their way until the next turn, where another torch sat lonely in its little niche, kindled to life as they got close. Soon they reached an edge, Rainbow Dash could feel that the space ahead of her was significantly bigger than what they had spent the past few minutes traveling in. She leaned in and looked into the empty space, glanced down and saw it.

Descending into the darkness barely half a meter from the cliff edge was what appeared to be a staircase. Obviously not professionally made, but they didn't appear to be a coincidental occurrence of the natural stone either. They seemed to be roughly hewn into the stone itself, perhaps by the primitive tribal toads many years past.

"It feels like we just keep going down." Dash said, feeling mystified. Dumbbell offered that they could turn around, but she wasn't ready to quit . They had made it this far, it'd be ridiculous to turn back now, not without some awesome story to tell her friends back home. The path felt safe and solid, nothing crumbled or gave under hoof as they trotted down step by uneven step. At the end stood a doorway, tall and thin and slightly ajar to show that Dumbbell had already been on the otherside.

"Got three guesses on where this leads?" he asked her.

"I only need one." she said solemnly. "This is it, the crypt." Together they reached their hooves to the door and pushed it inward, it was more like a slab and it grumbled reluctantly in its well worn grooves until the crypt stood in full view.

Rainbow Dash was staggered. "Wow."

Low ceiling, crooked columns and crumbled arches stretched out before them. The streaked and speckled quartz walls shimmered in the innocent blue flame providing light to the solemn chamber, which also timidly puffed to light when the two ponies walked near enough. Though the flame was only slightly larger than that of a candle the illumination reached several yards.

"This is the place Daring Do woke up in after she was ambushed." said Rainbow Dash in fascination. In the Jungle of Dread, Ahuizotl promised the tribe the gift of eternal life if they held Daring prisoner until he arrived to take her away. But they had taken it upon themselves to use the adventure pony in an appeasement sacrifice in their own grab for power. Obviously their plans fell flat and the titular hero escaped, leaving Crimsoncroak temple's denizens to their fate.

"Pretty cool, right?" Dumbbell spoke from behind still near the entrance, admiring detailed wall decorations. "The kind of effort these people put into their dead. And I never would have found this place if you hadn't spooked that bird."

"That's because Dash curiosity is the best curiosity! And don't you forget it!" Rainbow Dash trotted eagerly past several red stone pillars coming up to what appeared to be rows of dark slats pressed into the wall.

"There sure are a lot of these." she said softly in a subdued respect for the dead. And in fact the long walls were filled with narrow unmarked coffins. Above each coffin was a small pendant like object nudged into the wall, they all depicted a face, different in small ways but universally the same, they looked to be made out of the same stuff as the shiny red pillars and floor.

"Hmmm." She tapped the piece with her hoof, it definitely felt solid, she knew she couldn't pull it from the wall even if she wanted to. Her thoughts went back to the idol fragment Dumbbell had kept with him. It came to mind that she wanted a souvenir of her own.

"Theres gotta be something around here I can take with me. I can already imagine the look on Twilight's face when I tell her I've been here!" Rainbow Dash trotted down a narrow hall, noting the designs and murals pressed into the walls in the blue light They didn't seem to depict death, but there was a lot of fighting.

[i][/i]

[i]'Something cool...'[/i] some of the murals were accented with skulls, Rainbow Dash cringed.[i] 'But not creepy.' [/i]She turned a corner expecting to see more coffins, and instead found something entirely different.

Rainbow Dash knew what she was looking at, the little stone altar sat alone, isolated in a small cul de sac partition. Maybe for privacy though she could never be sure. It was draped so heavily in roots and greenery that the alter seemed to be halfway embedded into the stone and soil behind it. A primitive carving of some squat looking creature sat at the bottom of the stone table, staring up at her with bulging eyes and an uneven grin that did everything in its power to dissuade Rainbow Dash from taking even a single step nearer.

"Oh come on! I'm not afraid of some stupid rock carving!" The little pony grit her teeth and marched towards the altar, doing her best to keep her gaze well away from the strange carving, despite this her vision would still slip down to it again. It really was terrible. Rainbow Dash would never see anything so frightening back home in Ponyville, even on Nightmare Night!

"I can totally do this, I'm not scared of a bunch of dead frogs!" she said out loud to nopony, which only magnified the severity of the isolation.

Then she saw something in the low light, the smallest glint in the blue candle light covered by dirt and wedged into the roots that spilled over the stone table. A dark handle connected to a long curved blade of about seven inches. As unaccustomed as Rainbow Dash was to weapons, especially seeing one up close, she couldn't help but be lost to it for a few moments, until she noticed the stain.

"Ugh!" To Rainbow Dash the cold room suddenly felt a lot colder. Her ears swiveled, her nostrils flared, just how long had that dagger been sitting there-.

"Yo!"

Rainbow Dash shrieked and leapt so high that her back hit the roof of the little hollow. She fell roughly into Dumbbell who had been standing just a few feet away. She hadn't meant to but her back hoof landed a clean hit against his chest.

"Oof! Hey,watch it, will ya!" Dumbbell pushed her back and she stumbled. She braced herself against the altar and felt something press down under her weight in the middle of the slab.

[i]Click.[/i]

Uh oh.

The table spun and the entire room seemed to move with it. Actually it was the floor beneath them. A moment later, the two ponies found themselves in a new room with no immediate exit.

"W-what the heck just happened?" Dumbbell gasped, he lost himself for a moment, taking in the new scene. The first thing Rainbow Dash noticed when the revolving door stopped was a light pile of cloth lying limply against the wall right next to her. At first she thought it was just rags but a second look told her it was a dress.

"I...think I found a secret door or something." Dash mused while scanning the room. It was full of items, books, hats, clothing, jewelry, broken and torn with time and neglect.

"Why would they have books here?" Dumbbell cautiously approached one of the piles and picked an old dusty book that was wedged in between two sleeping bags. "Why would any of this junk be here?" He noticed something wedged between the pages, he pulled the flat object out and examined it. He flipped past the ornate stamp on the cover, trying to understand the faded scribbles on the yellowed pages, some of which was obscured by the cumulation of blocky colorful stamping. "What in the world?"

"What did you find?" Rainbow Dash heard his musing and walked over to see what he had found.

"A passport?" she asked, seeing the placid un smiling visage of a griffon staring back at them. "How old is this?" Dumbbell flipped through until he found the last date stamped in and frowned. "Fifty years ago." he answered.

"Oh." A small amount of color left Rainbow Dash's face as she produced what looked to be a photograph, holding the image of two smiling earth pony mares in a pair of wide brimmed cowboy hats. At first Dumbbell didn't seem to know what to make of it, until Rainbow Dash flipped it over, revealing the date the picture was taken.

"One year ago." she said, her mouth ran dry as she uttered those words. Dumbbell at first gawked, then swore under his breath. They both assessed the interior. A sealed room full of seemingly miscellaneous items, tossed carelessly in little piles, to be forgotten by everyone on the outside in suffocating caverns miles below an abandoned temple.

Rainbow Dash returned to the altar, exceedingly aware of the dagger still stuck in the roots. "Lets get out of here." she whispered, she found the button and mashed it earnestly.

As they quickly made their way through the winding passageways a strange warbling echoed through the halls wafting its way towards them hauntingly, mixing in with the air of the forbidden. It bid they leave, quickly.

"W-what was that?" Rainbow Dash went completely still, nearly causing Dumbbell to fall over her. Instead of complaining, Dumbbell perked his ears forward to catch the sound. His eyes showed understanding. "Sounds like your friend is back." he said dryly, he noticed the blue mare flinch as he side stepped her to continue walking.

"Oh. Is that it?" Dash brought herself up to speed again, catching up with her travel companion in a boisterous walk. "Well, that's no big deal!"

"Of course it isn't." Dumbbell agreed. "Because I'm here to keep you out of trouble."

Before Dash could retort something hit the floor with a battering smash, destroying the silence for a few shocking moments, far ahead of them, shrouded by shadow. Rainbow Dash gasped, the best she could do to not scream, and jumped backwards. One stroke from her powerful wings sent her gliding back the way they had come.

"Rainbow Dash get back here!" She heard his voice echo through the corridors followed by the sound of galloping hoofbeats. But the sound ended long before Dumbbell came into view. In fact he didn't show up at all, the hurried galloping was just swallowed up in the dismal gloom. Rainbow Dash peaked her head timidly around the pillar she had hid behind expecting to see him somewhere near by. "D-Dumbbell? Where'd you go?" There was no response when she creeped back into the open. The only thing left to her now was the low erratic warbling that flitted down to her from the crypt entrance and the decorated skulls on the wall, that seemed to whisper things in her ear.

"Wait up!" Rainbow Dash felt her heart beat race, he had been running towards her and now she was alone. Had he gone down some other passage? She took a deep breath and continued on, expecting to see Dumbbell at some point walking ahead. Knowing him, he would just turn and leave her to run in circles for the rest of her life. Typical.

She decided to just walk on and not call out to him again. He probably already thought she was a total scaredy cat, and to defuse that she would calmly find her own way out. It was a straight shot from where she was to the exit and if nothing else, the annoying chirping of the bird acted like a beacon. She went on for a while, not coming across anything that could have fallen along the path that would have made such a loud noise, but what upset her more, though she didn't want to admit it, was the dramatic absence of her companion. Maybe her fear had frustrated him and he really had left without her. The thought both angered and embarrassed the blue pegasus. Of all the ponies in Equestria to see her act like this.

"Just wait till I catch up with him! I'll-"

It was then that she came across the object that had crashed to the ground and frightened her so badly. She noted to her dismay, one of the coffins had fallen out of its hole in the wall. It lay cracked nearly in half, its covering had fallen away to reveal...nothing.

Rainbow stepped away from the broken coffin involuntarily, not wanting to see the inevitable skeleton or [i]whatever[/i] remains that would have fallen out, how had it fallen out? Rainbow Dash could feel her breath growing short.

"Okay, Rainbow Dash, just get a hold of yourself." she whispered pitifully after taking a long deep breath. "It's just a dirty old coffin made out of rock and mud, nothing in there can [i]possibly[/i] hurt you."

[i]Scrape.[/i]

It was the smallest of sounds but in Dash's heightened state of paranoia, she heard it.

"Wh-who's there?" she asked urgently. "Dumbbell if you're playing some kind of trick then I'm on to you!"

[i]"Uuuuugh...Ugggghh..."[/i]

The low, heavy unnatural rattle of some creature met her ears. Her eyes had already adjusted to the gloom, the faint candles cast spots of faint blue light into the tunnel at uneven intervals. There was something moving on the edge of the light, but it was still too dark to tell what it was.

[i]"Uuuuuu..."[/i]

"What are you!" Rainbow Dash shouted in what she truly hoped was an authoritative voice. Whatever it was crept closer, followed by the dreaded sound of scraping. "Stay away from me!" Rainbow Dash shouted again.

[i]"Daar...Daaaar..." [/i]The form advanced and Rainbow Dash retreated. "S-stay back! I'm warning you!" She couldn't understand it, was it trying to say her name? Then it lunged, roaring like an angry manticore, so large that it's sides strained against the sides of the tunnel, banging and clattering and screaming.

[i]"DARING DO!"[/i]

"Aaaah!" The back of Rainbow Dash's hoof struck the side of the coffin and she tumbled back into it, she struggled and kicked wildly to get out of the cramped smelly thing, terrified that if the monster caught up, it would seal her inside.

[i]"Daring...Doooo!" [/i]The monster roared as if harboring some ghastly vendetta against her.

"No! I'm sorry we raided your ancient burial grounds!" Rainbow Dash pulled herself out of the coffin and galloped away without looking back. "We didn't mean anything by it!"

Rainbow Dash felt like she had never flown faster. Out of the crypt, up the stairs and out of the pit in the blink of an eye, the giant bird didn't know what hit it. Under the enraged squawking, Rainbow Dash never would have heard the enraged howling breaking down into bouts of uncontrolled laughter.

[hr]

"Hold still!" Rainbow Dash scooped up another pebble from the brook and flung it into the branches. Her aim was normally good but Dumbbell's reflexes were quicker. He ducked behind the massive jungle tree trunk, laughing with careless abandon.

"Hahaw! If only you could have seen the look on your face." He said, though barely through his own heavy breathing.

"I oughtta pull out your pin feathers!" Rainbow Dash shouted. She gave up with the rocks and flew into the thick branches to knock Dumbbell in the head with her own hooves.

"Ya know there's no point in trying to act tough, [i]now[/i]." Dumbbell said while ambly trotting to the farthest reach of the branch he stood on, it was so thick that it didn't taper at all, and held his weight just as well as the part nearest the trunk. He turned to see Dash staring daggers at him and it filled him with mirth. "Just admit it, you were so spooked you couldn't even think straight!"

Below him Rainbow Dash growled and turned away. She looked up to see flecks of the fading sky through the canopy. The sun would be completely below the horizon soon, they'd been inside the temple for longer than she thought. She changed the subject quickly. "It's getting dark. So we'd better head back now before it gets too late." She spoke irritably, feeling his depreciative smirk beaming into the back of her head. Dumbbell took a deep breath and exhaled. "Smells like rain."

Of course Dash had smelled it too. "Can't handle a little rain?" she chided. "We can beat the worst of it if we fly fast enough." They leapt over the stream and continued down the path at a quick pace. They made a straight line to the dragonthorn tree with no troubles in between. From that high the smell of rain was even stronger, dampening the atmosphere and bringing quiet to everything around them. It felt like it was going to be more than just an average downpour.

As the silence between the two ponies ripened, Dumbbell spoke. "Go on if you want to, but I'm going back to the temple first thing tomorrow." This nearly made Dash stop in her tracks. "What? Go back down there,why?"

"I wanna see what else is down there. The idol was fixed, all of that stuff hidden away inside the crypt, pretty weird isn't it?"

"Which is why we should be flying back to Appleloosa." Dash said sternly. "Think about what we saw down there. Like that photograph!" She insisted, remembering the sorrowfully discarded dress and the other items inside the secret room, and the dagger stuck on the altar. She paced back and forth inside the makeshift tree cave, not bothering to hide her discomfort.

"That was definitely recent." she said. "Ponies out of Appleloosa it looked like, we've got to go there and tell them what we found."

The brown stallion removed his saddle bag and pulled his lantern from the outer clasp. "You're faster than me anyway. I gave up my idol piece to prove a point, but I'm not leaving here empty hooved." Dumbbell said so matter of factually that Rainbow Dash shook her head in disbelief. She ground her teeth, why was there no reasoning with this pony? She tried again to make her case. "But-"

"Besides," Dumbbell interrupted. "If that photo is really over a year old, it won't matter much if getting it back to Appleloosa takes a few more hours." A resounding rumble of thunder rolled across the plains, its thunderous roar adding in to their conversation. Dark clouds came over the plains swiftly blotting out the hazy glow of sunset and filling the air with electric tensity that made both pegasi lower their heads almost instinctual. Rainbow Dash had only heard stories about how violent storms could become in the badlands, and wondered if she was about to experience one first hand.

"They're usually not as bad as you think." Dumbbell said, catching Dash off guard. He seemed to have picked up on her thoughts.

"But there is a simple saying. 'Challenge makes storms angrier'. Do you really wanna risk it?" he asked her honestly. The blue pegasus sighed and sat down. She knew he was right , and besides, ever since they arrived in Dragonthorn jungle the [i]one[/i] thing Dash wanted to do besides explore was take proof that she had actually been here. Something so concrete nopony, not even Twilight, could hold a doubt in their minds! Rainbow Dash smiled to herself, the reactions of the other fans during next month's book club meeting were going to be off the charts! It would be pretty lame to fly all the way back with nothing to show...

"One more day won't hurt, I guess." she said. Dumbbell lit the lantern and set it down between them. "I knew you'd see reason." he replied. Then the rain came fast, and very hard.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Dumbbell asked suddenly, pulling Rainbow Dash out of the rainy haze. She looked over to see him, his brow set in a sentimental line.

"Reminds you of what?" she asked.

"Remember Quackers?" he asked simply. It took a moment for Dash to process the name. "I think...oh yeah! I remember her! She was kind of uh..." she hesitated.

"Weird." Dumbbell completed her statement. Rainbow Dash nodded her head in agreement. "Yep she was weird."

"She lived down in Froggy Bottom Bog. Her parents collected and sold spider silk." Rainbow Dash's ears perked at that bit of news, she hadn't known. "Wow really?"

"Yeah apparently there's a kind of giant spider that lives in the swamp, it's webbing is so strong you can build stuff with it."

"I've heard about those but I never got to see one." Dash commented as she continued to listen.

"Got no idea why they wanted that job of all things, a swamps no place for a pegasus. Anyway, you've got to remember the one time she invited the entire class to her birthday party, right?" Dash's mind had already begun tumbling through old fillyhood memories and pinpointed the the correct one easily enough. The party was in the swamp. She remembered when the sloppy invitation was slapped down onto her little desk. They had been written on wet, slimy tree bark,[b] [i]'Come one, come all to Quacker's Bayou Birthday Bash!'[/i][/b], or something like that. Only half the class showed up, if even that. And if she remembered correctly, Dumbbell had been there, complaining about his mom forcing him to go and make more friends.

"I hardly remember any of it up until the part we started telling ghost stories." Dumbbell continued. Quacker's birthday was on the day before Nightmare Night, so she fancied herself a certified spook enthusiast.

"She told us about some monster that always stalked the swampland at night, even worse than two crag-o-diles put together, she said, and we were gonna go out and capture it."

Rainbow Dash chuckled lightly. "Yep, I remember that! It was a lot like this, raining, sun was setting. We were all holed up in that rickety old tree house for what felt like forever, waiting for whatever it was to crawl along. We all thought Quackers was wasting our time until something finally happened."

"Her stupid brothers in some thrown together bogg monster costume is what happened. We were runnin around out there for hours." Dumbbell said. "She didn't even know that it was them testing out their costume. Think it's safe to admit they had us fooled." He glanced over at the blue pegasus with a disassembled grin. "You know, I swear you didn't scream as loud back then as you did down in the-ow!" Rainbow Dash cut him off with a swift kick to the haunch.

"Don't push it." she growled. "Your memory must have holes, I wasn't afraid of a stupid costume and I'm not scared of anything now." she said as if the very notion was preposterous.

"Geeze no need to act pissy." Dumbbell spat while rubbing his sore backside, his fiendish nature deflated as he turned back to the entrance and gazed silently into the falling rain.

A wall of silence wrapped them in once again. Though the storm had not reached its full strength, it was already strong enough to deaden any natural noise in the forest below them. And Dash's sour mood did a good enough job keeping the stallion's ridiculing words to himself, besides.

"I'm...I'm sorry." Rainbow Dash heard Dumbbell say something again after some time. Following a stilted sigh, his voice a shade less confident, lower also in tone. Through the gale, Rainbow Dash wasn't even certain she had heard him speak. The patter of rain, wind and rolling thunder doing it's job of muting the landscape.

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash murmured a half hearted response, only turning her ears in his direction. "Sorry about what?"

"We haven't seen much of each other since the Young Flyers Competition, I don't expect you to remember." he said. This made Rainbow Dash look at him with her head cocked to one side. "What are you talking about?" she asked. Dumbbell awkwardly scratched his foreleg, staring attentively at the ancient wood as if seeking advice from it.

"I don't like having to repeat myself, but I don't want you to think I'm being insincere."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Well you're not really doing a good job of that, even though I still have no idea what you're on about."

"When we were kids, giving you a hard time, I'm apologizing." Dumbbell repeated in short cutting phrases, like it took effort.

"Oh, uh." Rainbow Dash hung on the sentence, not really sure what she was supposed to say. It had been two years, maybe even longer than that. The topic of discussion wasn't as sour as it was perplexing that he would want to bring it up now.

"It-it's okay. Really!" Rainbow Dash insisted, ignoring her stammer. "Besides you had already apologized about that."

"Yeah, right after you pulled off a Sonic Rainboom in front of all of Cloudsdale." Dumbbell confessed with an undertone of amusement. He shrugged. "It probably wasn't the best moment."

Rainbow Dash understood. "Hey, no hard feelings." she said. She smiled at him and he smiled back, it was as simple as that.

[hr]

The two pegasi talked on from that point with little inhibition, about life, past exploits, and current ambitions. They moved further back the hollow wooden cave when the patter of rain turned into a steady strum. At first Rainbow Dash had her doubts about staying inside of it despite Dumbbell's insistence of it's safety. But the tree was a warrior, not even flinching or swaying under the strong wind. It felt like they were inside an actual house and not an ancient vertical hollow log. It was comfortable enough and the lantern gave them plenty of light. Perfect conditions for reading as far as Dash was concerned.

"Say, where did we leave off?" she asked and pulled the Daring Do book out of her saddle bag. It was a rhetorical question given the fact she always used a book mark. They had already made it far past the halfway point, roughly two-thirds of the adventure finished. Daring had reached the crypt of the Dark King and his legendary death mask, and was now facing off against some strange spectre, a ghostly guardian charged with keeping the sanctum clean of thieves.

"I dunno, I think she's finally met her match this time around." Dumbbell muttered as he turned the page.

"What? Are you serious?" Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. "You do remember who we're reading about here? She's ridden dragons, swam through shark infested waters, and pulled teeth straight out of a wyvern's mouth!" she leaned in close for dramatic effect. " ."

Dumbbell leaned away. "Look I'm just sayin," he brought up a hoof in mock submission. "She could at least hit those other guys. This is a ghost, carrying a mace, and the mace shoots lasers. I don't see a winning situation here."

"You speak blasphemies." Dash whispered menacingly, but the seriousness of her words were lost on the stallion.

"This isn't turning into a weird egghead unload session, is it?"

Rainbow Dash snorted and turned back to the book. "Daring Do always knows the way out."

Time passed serenely in the midst of the storm, and before Dash realized it, it had begun to lull her. The long flight south and the brief stint inside the temple were taking its toll. The last thoughts to pass through her mind was whether or not the ponies back home would be more impressed by a sword or a chest full of treasure, and which would be easier to carry back, when she finally drifted off . It was common knowledge that Rainbow Dash was a notoriously heavy sleeper, the storm did not bother her.

[hr]

Rainbow Dash awoke bleary eyed and struggling to breath when something thick and coiled stretched around her neck, pulling her head back with a rough jerk. She growled and jumped up, back hoof hit something that felt like a gut, the owner grunted in pain and fell backwards. Rainbow Dash started to turn around but was caught under a sudden weight on her back. It was crippling, she collapsed, the rope grew tighter and tighter.

She opened her mouth to yell but no air was available so she kicked again, trying to find something, anything to hit. But she couldn't move, the pressure from above was too much. Then came a sharp pain as something gouged into her side just above the wing. She tensed from the pain but before she could even try to scream, the world became soft and floaty as her vision fell away into darkness.


End file.
